Pasha's Lullaby
by GF-221b
Summary: AU. Band-setting. Kirk gets a song-writer and suddenly things get complicated for a certain Scotsman. Scotty/Chekov, Kirk/Spock. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

Chapter One:

Pavel Andreivich Chekov was starting a new era.

"You're Pavel Chekov? What kind if name is that?" the lead singer of Pavel's favorite band, one James T. Kirk (Captain Kirk, lead singer and lead guitarist, age 22. He loves the green apples and having the audience sing the choruses at shows with him and the band.).

"Russian, sir," the boy replied, smiling, the Russian accent showing through.

A stern looking male plugging in a bass guitar blinked at the boy and asked, "And just how old are you, kid?"

"Seventeen, sir," Pavel replied, grinning proudly.

The man, (Leonard McCoy, bass guitarist, 26, would have been a doctor, but he was roped into this life by his best friend, Kirk,) blinked and looked over to the producer and manager, Spock. No one was sure of Spock's last name, even his band didn't know. But Pavel wouldn't complain. "Great, he's seventeen," he said.

Spock (22, elf-like, and very efficient. Not much was known about Spock to the fans, as he was more of a behind-the-scenes guy) came forward and smiled as warmly as someone with slightly tapered elf-ears and a pale complexion could, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Chekov. You're song was very moving, and the music was wonderfully played. A pianist, are you?"

"My mother taught me, sir. I never pursued it further after… that's not important," Pavel replied, faltering a little.

Spock made a mental note in his head about the kid's reaction and looked to the rest of the band. There was one Montgomery Scott, simply known as Scotty (25 years old as of last week, Scottish and proud. He was a fan of Scotch and whisky, but he was also very loyal to the band. He once pushed the band's rival band's second guitarist off the stage at a concert), and Hikaru Sulu, simply Hikaru to his fans. He was nineteen and very loud with his drums. Then again, the band had just done fabulous covers of old rock and roll songs from the 60s and 70s before they decided to get themselves a songwriter.

That's where Pavel Chekov came in.

"Do you think you can teach us chords and drum beats?" Hikaru asked, glad there was someone younger than him in the room.

"It's in 4/4, so four beats for a drum. Maybe some light cymbal taps ever two beats? Some bells might be nice during the bridge," Pavel replied. He went to the corner where he saw the piano and beckoned the band to come closer.

"These are the chords I used…" he said as he lightly tapped some of the keys at the same time.

McCoy fingered the strings and made the two sounds that Pavel was alternating between. Pavel smiled at him and made a thumbs-up gesture with his free hand. "This is the second melody, so… Scotty's melody," he laughed quietly, and began a pretty basic melody that repeated itself quite nicely.

Scotty picked up his electric guitar and began plucking at the strings. Pavel smiled warmly at him, making Scotty's insides warm slightly, and a slight nervous jolt run through his spine. 'That was weird,' he thought.

Pavel had moved on to Kirk's melody, which was slightly harder, and not so repetitive. In fact, it changed from verse to verse and chorus to verse. And just like that angelic voice on the CD he sent in, Pavel began to sing along with the melody. Kirk followed along with his guitar and began to sing softly along with him.

Spock was glad that Pavel was so good at teaching the song as he was brilliant at writing the music and singing it. He wondered why the bright young man wouldn't pursue a career in music at a university. With 'works with the Brothers Grimm' on his resume, he could get into a fine institution in town and still work for them.

"Shall we put it together, boys?" Kirk asked after going through the song three or four times.

The boys nodded and Hikaru started tapping the beat lightly on the edge of one of his drums before they began putting it together. 'It's yours now,' Pavel thought as he spun himself on the piano bench to watch them practice. Spock came and joined him, tapping his foot on the ground slightly to the drum beat.

When the song ended, Kirk turned to the band and made some suggestions to his friends, and they in turn made suggestions as well. "Very democratic," Pavel said, fascinated.

"We're one of the few," Spock replied. "You're very good at writing and singing. This song was the only one written and sung with as much feeling, and we liked the sound of the melody…"

"Thank you, sir. I was quite surprised when I received your call that I had won the contest," Pavel replied. "My friend Nyota and I are big fans of your work. You're version of 'The Beat Goes On' is our high school anthem…"

Spock smiled, "Well… we hope the fans enjoy your work as well," he said.

Pavel shook his head, "It really is an honor to write songs for you…" he said, "So they're actually yours, not mine."

Spock nodded, "Yes… but think of yourself as part of the Brothers Grimm now. So what's ours is yours as well as what's yours is ours."

Pavel smiled, liking the concept very much.

* * *

After practice, most of the band had packed up and left, save for Hikaru, who had to load is drums in the back of his truck, and Pavel, who was waiting for Nyota to pick him up.

"Hikaru," Pavel finally asked, "Do you need some help?"

"A little… The base drum is always the hardest for me to get out the door. This is why I go to the gym, actually," the Japanese man replied, smiling.

The Russian got up from the floor and took the other end, "Perhaps when this it done, Nyota will be here…"

"This Nyota girl… is she your girlfriend?"

Pavel paused and then began to laugh, "No. If anything, I'm her gay boyfriend!"

Hikaru blinked, "You're gay?"

"Oh, is that bad for you?"

"Oh, no. No, no, no!" Hikaru replied as he opened the door with his back, "If anything, most of us are bisexual in the band. Spock and Kirk flirt a lot, and McCoy _totally_ has the hots for Scotty, even though he'll deny it like it's the plague," he laughed. Pavel laughed because it was funny and because Hikaru was the type of person who could make the whole world laugh with him if he wanted.

"That sounds about right," Pavel replied. "I've read your blog, Hikaru. You talk about some pretty personal stuff. Does the band ever get angry about it?"

"They never read it. Only Spock does. McCoy is too busy practicing his mind out, Kirk is always out drinking and partying when he's not practicing, and Scotty? Scotty doesn't like the Internet. It makes him nervous or something," Hikaru replied. "But maybe he'll read it after today. I'm definitely making you a central figure…"

Pavel flushed slightly as they shoved the bass drum under the tarp and put up the fourth wall of the truck. "Nyota will never let up about this…" he said, smiling sheepishly.

"Ah, it won't be too personal. I just want the hard-core fans to know what we're up to is all," Hikaru replied. "Well, thanks for the help. Want me to sit with you until your Nyota comes?"

Pavel peered into the night and saw the red car that was associated with Nyota' burning passion for language. "Nope… there she is. See you tomorrow, Hikaru!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

It was after the second day that Pavel got the news: "Can you write four songs by Monday?" Spock asked, "We have a gig next Friday, and we need five songs to have a full set." The elf-like male was polite and all, and Pavel wanted to please him as much as he wanted to help out the band (as he was paid to do).

"Sure!" Pavel replied, feeling all eyes on him.

But when he got home, he finished his calculus and European history homework, and then stared at his song notebook for about twenty minutes before he threw the pencil down in frustration.

He picked up his cell phone, instead, and called his best friend.

"Yo, this is Nyota!" she said.

"Check caller ID much?" Pavel asked.

"Pasha! Didn't I just see you?" Nyota asked.

"It didn't take me three seconds to finish my calculus homework. You dropped me off at five…"

"What time is it now?"

"Tell time much?"

"Don't make mamma angry, Pasha-dear," Nyota replied.

Nyota and Pavel had been friends since second grade. The town only had one of each school, including a small community college. Nyota was the same age as Pavel (if not six months older, so, technically, she was seventeen and a half, and if you mistook her for anything more or less, she would jump down your throat…) and in some of the same advanced classes, except, instead of Honors Physics, she was taking fourth year French and third year German, as well as taking 'classes' in Russian from Pavel. She was a firm linguist as opposed to Pavel's genius in astro-physics and, recently, song-writing/piano-playing.

"All right, mother dear," Pasha replied, grinning, "It's past seven o clock."

"Oh yeah. I remember eating my burger that I got from work when I got home. Jeez, flipping burgers sure has its perks," Nyota replied.

"You'd think your parents would have put money away for your college funds…" Pavel commented.

"They did, they just aren't giving me a normal allowance like normal kids…" Nyota replied. "You just found out your mother didn't leave anything, right?"

"And my father's a douche bag," Pavel replied solemnly.

"Sorry for bringing it up. You get paid a lot for this new job right?" Nyota asked.

"Yeah… If I stay with the band, the money will totally pay for my college tuition and anything else I'll need. Working for one of the most popular bands in the county sure had its perks," Pavel replied.

"Listen, I know I quizzed you on the way home, but… is Kirk really such an asshole as Hikaru says he is in the blog?"

"No! Well… he does have that women-adore-me-and-men-want-to-be-me vibe going on… but he learns well and, like I said, the band is pretty democratic."

"I bet Hikaru loved having someone younger than him join the group, huh?"

"Yeah… he's nice, though. Easy to talk to, easy to laugh with. He swears the whole band is at least bisexual."

"Oh? Getting a crush, are we Gushy McGushPants?" Nyota teased.

"No. Not Hikaru, at least. You know I adore Scotty almost to the point of infatuation. Though I heard from Hikaru that Len has a crush on him…"

"Poor baby. You know I love them all, right?" Nyota asked, "Except Kirk. He's a great leader and a great musician, but there's something about him that I just can't stand…"

"His suave-ness? The awesome hair? The fact that every girl who has ever seen this band perform falls in love with his sultry sounds and his amazing guitar playing and you just want to go against the grain? Find someone else in that case!"

Nyota growled low on the other end, "I _would_ pick, but you got dibs on Scotty and I don't even know Spock!"

"Spock's awesome. He's polite and smart. I think you would really like him…"

"I'll stick to the performing aspect, thanks. Maybe Len. I like his playing and the 'older male' quality…" Nyota paused in her thinking, "Did you have a reason for calling other than a social visit? Not that I mind or anything, but you kind of called me as I was starting my homework…"

"Ooh sorry, you want me to hang up?" Pavel asked.

"No, no! I was about to start the lab questions to biology. You know how much I just _love_ the cell body and its many _fascinating_ functions…"

"But… what about the Latin names?" Pavel asked.

"What?"

"The Latin names. They have corresponding French names and stuff, right? You can look those up and focus on them in your lab questions and totally piss Mr. Pike off, da?"

"I love you so much right now, Pasha," Nyota replied.

"Anyway," Pavel blushed slightly, "I have to write four songs for the band… and I got stuck with writer's block."

"Aww… well, from the stuff we usually listen to, people mostly sing about love, loss, and sometimes when they get horny—"

"_Thank you_ Nyota," Pavel replied, really blushing now.

"Sorry… I was just listening to 'LoveGame' by Lady Gaga before you called…" Nyota replied, sounding rather sheepish.

"Right…" Pavel replied.

"So… you can sing about Scotty of you wish," Nyota teased.

Pavel jumped and almost through his cell down on the carpet, "What?"

"Write about Scotty! You said when their last album came out that you were, quote, in love with his voice, his guitar-playing, and his toned body—"

"I think Auntie Natasha's calling me, bye Nyota!" Pavel yelled, and slammed the phone shut before lying face-first on the plush red carpet. "Damn that girl…" he muttered into the threads.

* * *

He was still stuck twenty minutes later. Nyota had texted him for answers, but he ignored them, promising to talk to her in the morning in their homeroom class. He sat at his desk, the Brothers Grimm's last album playing softly from his iPod speakers, pencil poised over his very special song-writing notebook. And nothing was coming.

Finally, he took up his cell phone again and, to distract himself mostly, flipped through his contacts. He paused over Hikaru Sulu's name, wondering what the other male was up to at nine. Usually a new blog post would be up by ten at night, so… maybe he was working on it?

"He'll need to take a break to get the genius to flow smoothly," Pavel muttered as he pressed the button and put it to his ear as the other line rang.

"Hey, Pavel, what's up?" Hikaru asked.

"Hey… just some writer's block. I really want to get some of these songs written so I can begin writing the score and recording everything for Monday…"

"The Eiffel Tower wasn't built in a day, you know," Hikaru reminded the Russian whizkid lightly, an obvious smile on his face.

"I know…" Pavel replied, "I just want some ideas to go off from, though…"

Hikaru thought for a moment, "Well… I would listen to our version of 'Fly On The Wall,' and then our version of 'Creep,' and then remember that most songs can be categorized into four major song types: Sad, Joyous, Love and Hate. Try a song from each category."

"Uhh… why should I listen to 'Creep' and 'Fly On The Wall?'" Pavel asked, his mouth a perfect liwer-case 'o.'

"Because I hate the song you're playing right now," Hikaru replied.

"'Calling You'? But this is the best version I've heard since the original!" Pavel replied passionately.

"Just between me and you, that was our last take of the recording, and I was already having issues with the drumbeat. I messed it up in the first five seconds and we kept it how it is…" Hikaru said.

"But… you can hardly tell in the first five seconds… besides…" Pavel suddenly blushed.

"What, Pavel?" Hikaru asked, like he already knew the answer.

"Scotty sang the song… It's the only one with him as the lead singer," Pavel replied barely above a whisper.

"You like him, don't you?" Hikaru asked.

"More than you know," Pavel replied.

Hikaru smiled, not that Pavel could see him, and sighed loudly, "All right then. I'll leave you to your writing. Good night, Pavel."

"Good night Hikaru. Thank you!"

And with that, Pavel set to work, grateful for the challenge, and grateful to Hikaru for giving him a push in the right direction.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

All went well for Pavel. His songs were finished and received well by the other members of the Brothers Grimm. They learned the chords and melodies and everything else ran smoothly. It was now the eve of the gig, and the band was practicing individually for a few minutes before Kirk would get them to bring it all in. Len had come up with the idea, but Scotty had seconded it, and so they were split off into individual practice rooms.

Pavel moved to another room with a piano in it. The space Spock rented out for them on weekday evenings was empty at this time, thanks to a little haggling from Spock, of course, so the rooms were all unlocked and up for grabs, even if the band only used the one.

Pavel sat down at the piano and stared at it for a moment before he put his fingers on the keys and pressed down, beginning to play something…

* * *

Scotty was having issues. Suffice to say, he also wanted to see Pavel without the other guys around him to make fun of him, especially Hikaru, who seemed to know something Scotty didn't. Scotty took the acoustic guitar he practiced on ("It's lucky if I practice on this one if I'm alone, you know?" he had said in an interview) and went to find the Russian whizkid, wherever he had gone to.

He was surprised to find that, past Hikaru's careful drumbeats and Kirk's soft strumming and even gentler voice, Pavel had gone as far from the other rooms as he could, even though each room was insulated and sound proof.

He got close to the door to listen and heard a small voice singing a rocking melody, with sweet words and careful keystrokes. Pavel paused every once and a while to figure out the chords, as if he was writing another song. But the lyrics, as Scotty stepped closer to listen to the enchanting song, seemed older than anything Pavel had written. It sounded like… like a lullaby from a different time.

_Watch for the moon…_

_Watch for the stars…_

…_I'll always be with you wherever you are._

That seemed like the ending to the song, as Pavel sighed out and papers rustled. Scotty was about to knock when Pavel began again:

_Hush my dear, close your eyes_

_Have no fear for dark skies_

_Watch for the moon_

_Watch for the stars_

_I'll always be with you wherever you are._

_Sleep, my star, don't you fear_

_When you wake, I'll be here_

_With you in soul_

_With you in dreams_

_With you to fight off Nightmare's great schemes._

_Watch for the moon…_

_Watch for the stars…_

…_I'll always be with you wherever you are._

Scotty finally opened the door (as it wasn't locked) figuring out that it was a lullaby. A child's lullaby, like nothing he had ever heard before. He wanted to congratulate Pavel for writing the music for it, but as he opened the door, he saw that the boy wasn't joyful for figuring out the notes in honor of his mother but… sad.

Pavel jumped and wiped the corner of his eye with the sleeve of the gold shirt he was wearing. "Scotty?"

"Pavel, I… was that a lullaby?" Scotty asked.

"Yes. It was my mother's and mine when I was smaller," Pavel said, his normally sweet voice dulled and almost annoyed.

_Was_… "I'm sorry, Pavel, but is your mother—"

"Please leave, Mr. Scott," Pavel replied, turning his back on the other male and wiping his eyes more.

"Oh, but I—" Scotty was tongue-tied, not only because of the gravity of the situation, but also because, well, he might have had a small, tiny, insignificant crush on the younger male…

Pavel suddenly stood, "Fine," he said, the air growing colder, as well as darkening as Pavel moved passed Scotty.

And Scotty stood there for a moment. Meanwhile, Pavel left early, taking out his phone to call Nyota.

One thing Pavel left was his lullaby on the piano's music ledge. Scotty took it up and looked at the words, the chords fresh in hid mind. "Pasha's Lullaby…" he muttered, even though the title was in messy Cyrillic Russian as oppose to Roman English.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

Pavel peered through the curtains as the band who was opening for the Brothers Grimm set up for their song. "There's… a lot of people out there," he said, looking a little nervous.

"You're not the one going out there to perform," Hikaru replied, closing the drapes a little as the other band started to play, "You get to sit pretty with Mr. Spock in the booth."

The aforementioned male was standing, poised with his hands behind his back, as if he was waiting for the younger male to come to him and follow him to the technological booth towards the back of the joint. Since they were a dinky café, the booth was just a table with a lone guy (Mr. Olsen, as Pavel soon found out) running lights and working the volume levels for the sound equipment.

"That's true," Pavel said. "Well, break a leg… all of you," he said, turning from Hikaru to the rest of the band, who were putting the straps of their instruments over their shoulders. They looked up and smiled at Pavel (well, Scotty and Kirk did, at least) before the aforementioned teen ran to Spock. "Well?"

"Mr. Olsen has set up two chairs for us at the back. You may stand up and dance along if you would like. I know your song "I'm Not Going Back" and "Six Feet Above" do make your body want to move when the Brothers Grimm play them…" Spock told him as they walked out to Olsen's table.

Pavel sat down as the opening band got off stage and Olsen announced the Brother's Grimm. He was still embarrassed about what had happened the evening before, but when Scotty entered the small stage the café happened to have, the younger male's cheeks flushed and he bowed his head. Thank goodness the male in question couldn't see Pavel in the dark.

The band began with the first song Pavel wrote, which got the crowd going. By the end of the night, everyone was whispering about how good the new song-writer was and how much they were anxious and excited about getting the new album. Pavel looked to Spock, who was sitting quite close to him.

"Fascinating," Spock whispered to him. "I knew your songs would be a hit, but I didn't anticipate that they would be as good as the fans are making them... They've gone from fantastic to extraordinary."

Pavel beamed, his feathers being fluffed a little more than usual.

Indeed many of the more fast-paced songs did make people get up from the café's table settings to dance with their dates and their friends. Pavel stayed seated during these times, still on awe of the whole atmosphere. Nyota found him in the crowd from where she had been sitting with a couple people from her advanced Latin club she had formed to spite her Biology teacher even more.

They sat together; Nyota pulling up an empty chair and sitting with Pavel, Spock, and Mr. Olsen until the very last song. Or what they thought was the last song.

The others left the stage, and Scotty even took off the strap to his electric guitar and handed it to Hikaru, who went back stage, and a few minutes later came back onstage with Scotty's acoustic guitar. While he was away, Scotty waved almost sheepishly and started a mini-rant, surprising even Spock in the back.

"Hello, lads and lasses. I'm Scotty, as you all must know. The rest of the band has graciously let me stay up here. In no way is this affiliated with the gig at all… I just wanted to apologize to someone who is a really big part of this band, and always will be."

By the time the mini-rant ended, the acoustic guitar was hanging off Scotty's body just right, and he sat down on the stool he had been standing in front of and began to sing, strumming the chords and pausing every once and a while to read the music Hikaru had handed to him along with the guitar:

"_Hush my dear, close your eyes_

_Have no fear for dark skies…"_

Pavel blanched in his seat and gripped the sides, nearly melting like the Wicked Witch of the West. "That's… that's my lullaby," he whispered feverishly.

Only Spock and Nyota heard him.

The crowd went wild after Scotty finished up, his eyes darting over the crowd and finding Pavel, looked at him with pleading eyes. Pavel looked away, just as Spock grabbed his hand firmly and nearly dragged him backstage. Scotty was there, watching for them.

"So?" Scotty asked, more to Spock.

"The crowd went wild for the lullaby," Spock told him. "We may have to do the band version of it…"

The whole band looked at Pavel, who blushed. "I… I don't think it would be fair to… to my mother to publicized our lullaby," he said firmly, and stormed off again.

* * *

"But you have to, Pavel! Do you know how crazy the fans were about it?" Nyota told him in the car.

"Yes… but it was a private song and Scotty had no right to use it. Even if he was apologizing to me for walking in on a critical moment!" Pavel replied.

"Pasha… do what your mother says and call Spock about the band using your lullaby!" Nyota said, faux glaring over her shoulder at him.

He shook his head almost stubbornly, "Nyet. This is a matter between my _real_ mother and me."

"Please, Pasha," Nyota began the whining stage. "Scotty worked hard on getting the chords right for your song! You must admit it was thrilling to have him sing. To you, of all people!"

Pasha admitted inwardly that Nyota was right. He was secretly pleased that his favorite musician and celebrity crush would sing to him. But he was still angry at Scotty for walking in on him working, and then publically showcasing the song his mom had written for him.

He went into his house, up the steps to his attic bedroom with a heavy heart. About twenty minutes later, he received an annoying text from Nyota about changing his mind. He ignored it. Several minutes later, as he was drifting off to sleep, he received another one from Nyota: "_Okay, you don't have to reply. You don't even have to let them use it. Just think about all the courage it took Scotty to sing in front of everyone when all he needed was to sing to you. That's why the crowd wants your song. Because Scotty wanted YOU to hear it._"

Pavel stared at his phone for a good minute before he clicked out of the message, searched his contacts and put the phone to his ear: "Mr. Spock? Yeah… I'll have the music and CD of "Pasha's Lullaby"—the lullaby Scotty sang at the end of the gig?—yeah, I'll have the music written and the demo CD recorded by Monday."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

Pavel was in for a treat a few days later: he was to see how the band recorded. Since Pavel was the one to write the music and songs, he could have a say on how the recording went: what extras he wanted in the songs. So he stayed in the booth once more with Spock. Or he would, anyway.

'Man, I really need to get myself a car when I pile enough money up from this gig,' the Russian whizkid thought as he put his hands in his coat pockets and breathed precipitation into the cold, nearly winter air. "I love November," he sighed as he waited for the company car to pick him up from his street corner.

"_Shame we won't be picking up in front of your house. I was sure you would have wanted a certain Scotsman to know where you live…" Hikaru had said when Spock had put him on the phone to get the place to pick him up. The whole band would be riding together in one van._

"_I'm not ready for any of you hooligans to see where I live. The corner of Rose and Winter streets is the closest any of you are getting…" Pavel replied._

"_Well, Scotty's smart. He can figure it out if he really wants," Hikaru replied._

_The words sent shivers down Pavel's spine and he fell silent for a moment before, "Uhm… okay. See you tomorrow, Hikaru."_

There was a loud honking noise (Hikaru was driving) from a large rust-colored car as it moved toward the curb Pavel had been standing at. Pavel waved slightly as the door opened and Kirk literally grabbed him around the waist and pulled him to the car, closing the door and signaling to Hikaru to peel away fast.

Pavel sighed, sprawled across Kirk's legs and the legs of another, anonymous at this point, pair of legs. Pavel soon moved his head to look up and saw that… oh.

Len and Spock were in the very back… Hikaru was driving, Kirk was the one holding up his stomach and thighs so… Scotty was holding up his torso and neck. Pavel blushed and got up quickly, taking the seat on the other side of Scotty, closest to the window. "Th-Thanks," he stuttered shyly.

"For what, pretending to kidnap you?" Scotty asked, laughing quietly. "Glad to see your talking to me again, though, laddie," he whispered. "That's some Stockholm's syndrome you have…"

Pavel's blush was still apparent, but he looked up at the older male, his hands formed into fists as he extended his arms on his knees. He smiled, "That's funny, since Kirk was the one to kidnap me…"

"You still like me, though, right?" Kirk asked, a small pout forming.

Pavel laughed, "I like you, Kirk. I don't think I'll be vouching for you when Nyota calls the police and they come looking for me…"

"She wouldn't. She knows you're with us," Hikaru said, looking back at them through the mirror.

"True story," Kirk replied, laughing. "It's either you're with us or against us, Pavel."

"Such a hard decision! My best friend or my current employers!" Pavel said, moving his arms to put up to his face.

"Either way, I don't think Pavel appreciates being 'kidnapped' as you say, Jim," Spock said calmly from the back.

"You're just jealous because he doesn't do that to you," Scotty said, twisting himself to look at the elf-eared male and smirking slightly.

"Why would you think that, Scotty?" Spock asked.

"No reason," Scotty replied, twisting forward again and winking at Pavel.

Pavel blushed, but covered his mouth to suppress a small chuckle.

* * *

Once they were at the studio, they successfully recorded all the songs that Pavel had written, including Pasha's Lullaby. Pavel was surprised at how nice the band had made their version of the lullaby, but Scotty wouldn't let them change the name from "Pasha's Lullaby" to "Lullaby." Which, in Pavel's mind, was undeniably sweet on Scotty's part.

The Brothers Grimm were just getting ready to leave, Kirk pushing at Len to 'get a move on,' as the others looked on and (in Scotty and Hikaru's case) laughing at Kirk's antics. Pavel hung back with Spock and at least smiled at all the friendly roughhousing. There was a rush of cold wind as three figures blocked their path.

"Well, well, well," a suave voice said, arms crossed. The other two followed suit.

"Is that…" Pavel was cut off.

"Khaaaaaan!" Kirk shouted stepping in front of his band like a father.

Spock came up from behind him, "You know not to come here when we're here…"

"Khan and the Romulans? Yes," Hikaru whispered to the younger member warily.

"Is that a rule now, Spock?" a bald guy on Khan's right asked. Pavel knew him to be Nero. The other guy, on Khan's other side, was named Ayel.

"It should be, you two-faced bastard," Kirk replied. Spock placed a pale hand gently on the lead singer's shoulder to calm him.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Len asked, body stiff and face twisted in an unpleasant glare.

"We have the slot after you," Ayel replied.

"And since you're still here… ah. Is this your new song-writer?" Khan asked, changing his original thoughts when he spotted the Russian whizkid.

Pavel looked down at his feet, and Scotty stepped closer to him, leading the others to do the same. The Scotsman put a hand on the boy's back almost possessively.

"I wasn't going to take him from you," Khan said, looking to Spock. "I write good enough songs. Which is possibly why our last album was a hair away from passing yours… Got a little scared, eh?"

"His songs are better than your pieces of glorified shit," Kirk hissed.

"That's a lot of pressure to put on a mere child," Khan replied, smooth as ever. "Why don't we let an audience judge who writes better songs?"

"A song-off?" Len asked.

"We'll do it," Kirk said.

"What?" Hikaru and Scotty asked.

"We can use Pasha's Lullaby," Kirk told them.

"Nope. I want a fresh song. In fact… here's the rules," Khan stated, turning to Pavel, "It has to be a new song. A sad song. And you only have two days to write it. The band will have two days to rehearse it. We'll see you at the university recital hall on Saturday at five."

Pavel gaped at the other in disbelief, "I… I can do that," he said, and his head fell forward and he was back to looking at his sneakers.

"Are you sure, lad?" Scotty asked, hand falling from Pavel's back.

"I can… I have to, at this point," Pavel replied, looking at Kirk. "The pride of the band depends on it, da?"

Kirk turned to Khan, his face showing a little bit of fear for the newest member of the band, "… You'd never let us see the end of it if we backed out, would you?"

"Nope. And I'd slander your band in front of my fans. Some of whom are fans of the Brothers Grimm as well…" Khan replied.

"Nero can be especially persuasive, you know," Ayel added, smirking.

Kirk turned to his band, looking once more at Pavel. "Go on. How hard can writing another song in a day be?" the younger male asked.

Kirk nodded, "See you Friday, then," he told Khan and the Romulans.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

That night Pavel went home. After a wonderful dinner prepared by both himself and his aunt Natalya, he sat down at his desk. He had finished his homework during his free time at school and thus had nothing else to do but get to work on writing that song. The pride of the band depended on this song-off, as Len had called it.

But, again, nothing was happening. Nothing in his brain clicked. He went through his lyric notebook, but he hadn't written anything new that he could put to music. Everything had either been recorded that very day, or would be recorded soon enough. Pavel sighed, wishing he had more than two days to write it. He turned on his keyboard and warmed himself up with his lullaby, and then the chords to one of his favorites of the Brothers Grimm's old songs, but nothing came to his mind from that, either.

So he just played the songs his mother taught him: Brahm's Lullaby, Vivaldi's Four Seasons (the Winter sections, at least), and, because he still was getting nothing, he played 'Heart and Soul' a couple times, starting off with the bass part, and then switching to the melody.

After a few run-throughs of 'Heart and Soul,' his aunt came up to tell him she was going to bed, so Pavel turned off his keyboard and went back to his lyric book. Finally, he shook his head, changed into his pajamas, and went to sleep.

* * *

"You have got to be joking," Len said.

Pavel had just told the group that he didn't have anything ready. No lyrics to at least read through, at least. Spock sighed, "Now, now, Len. It's nothing to get nasty over," he warned.

"It's everything to get nasty over!" Len shouted, "The kid's seventeen. He's too young to be working for a big-name band like us. He should be… I don't know, flipping burgers with his flake of a girlfriend!"

Pavel's head fell and he quietly excused himself from the room. Hikaru, Jim, and Scotty all turned to Len and glared. Spock looked out the window and saw that Pavel had just slipped in to the farthest practice room and was shutting the door softly, as oppose to slamming it, as any one of the members would have done.

"Now look what you've done, Bones," Jim said. "That kid isn't fit to work at a burger joint."

"He and Nyota both are too smart to work somewhere like that. Nyota seems to have compensated, but Mr. Chekov has found a passion and has run with it," Spock said, no anger in his voice, but it wasn't completely monotone.

"What are you talking about? All kids are unique, but he's _seventeen_," Len reiterated.

"Mr. Chekov took two university classes this summer, and now has gone back to the seven class high school curriculum, has college applications, SATs, ACTs in math and science, as well as this job. He has taken upon himself to take up weekly piano lessons on Saturday mornings, and has added a music theory class from the university just recently to help him with this job," Spock told the group. "Sure, he is young, but he willing to work hard for himself, as well as this band."

"Jesus," Len said, "That kid really cares about this group…"

Hikaru sighed, "Not that it matters. He's probably gone and won't ever come back."

Spock shook his head, "That is not the case. I think he just left for a while to get his head together so he didn't feel he was to anger us anymore," he replied.

Scotty glanced at Spock, and Spock's lips twisted into a very unrecognizable smile as he glanced to the door he had seen Pavel slip into. Scotty followed his eyes. "Len, you're a bastard," Scotty said, moving to leave the room, "Think about what you did," he added absentmindedly as he opened the door and slipped out to the hall.

* * *

This time Scotty didn't wait to knock on the door. He didn't hear any music this time around, and hoped the boy hadn't done anything rash. "C-Come in," a small voice answered.

Scotty opened the door quietly and saw the curly-haired teenager's back as he curled up on the piano bench, hugging his knees with his lyric book open and the pencil seemingly thrown to the floor.

Scotty silently picked up the pencil: a small yellow mechanical pencil. It was still warm from Pavel's hand clutching it. "Art usually needs a lot of time to perfect."

Pavel wiped one eye and looked behind him, straightening his body slightly. Scotty joined him on the end of the bench. "Len was right. Why didn't I just take a simple job like Nyota?"

"Because you had a dream and ran. Nyota… I don't know Nyota very well, but… I think she just compensated. But you… you answered a calling," Scotty replied, faltering with his words. He hadn't really had to comfort someone before this.

Pavel thought for a while. "I… I don't know about that…" he said nervously. He chewed his bottom lip as he looked at his lyric-book, embarrassed to be alone with the Scotsman.

"Your mother taught you the piano?" Scotty asked, looking at the keys and putting his hands on them. He began playing the chords of 'Pasha's Lullaby.' Then he added his melody, which was pretty much a steady inversion of the actual melody Kirk had gotten. He hummed the lyrics carefully.

"Da… she did…" Pavel replied, watching Scotty's hands. The tips were calloused, but they looked soft and were of a medium size… like his mother's. "She… She was playing a little melody when I was about four, and I walked in from my nap. I had had a nightmare. She… took me up in her lap and played for me. Then she taught me 'Twinkle, Twinkle,' and… I just loved it. The feeling of the keys…" here Pavel started with Kirk's part of the song, so that the two were playing the three guitar parts. "My mother's voice as she hummed along… the songs she taught me over the years…"

Then something clicked as the two ended the song. Pavel smiled as he looked at Scotty. Scotty crooked his head to the side, "What's up, lad?" he asked.

"I think I have something," Pavel replied, taking up the pencil Scotty had set on the piano's music holding ledge. He began scribbling something down and then he remembered Scotty was still sitting next to him. "Thanks, Scotty…" he said.

"You're welcome. I guess… I guess I'll leave you to it, eh?" the Scotsman asked, getting up.

"Yes, please. Close the door on your way out," Pavel replied absently.

Scotty chuckled as he closed the door behind him. Spock was waiting for him outside the normal practice room. "Well?"

"He's got something. I bet it's about his mother," Scotty replied, smiling. "Woman's really a constant in that kid's life…"

Spock's face fell a little, "Well… not so constant anymore," he replied.

"What?" Scotty asked, confused.

"Ah, nothing…" Spock replied, the serious face holding for about a minute before he smiled slightly at the Scotsman, "He'll tell us when he's ready. Good work, Scotty…"

And as Spock left the building, Scotty could only give a confused look at the direction Pavel was in, and then follow the elf-eared man out the door to the parking lot.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

The next day, Pavel came to practice with a smile on his face.

From the beginning, when Len walked in, he seemed uncomfortable around the kid. Pavel thought nothing of it as the others gathered around him and the piano. Pavel began to play the melody, and soon he was singing along:

_You left me and darkness fell  
You left me alone and confused.  
When you were gone I picked up the pieces  
And now all I remember is your light._

_You left me but you didn't  
You left me but I don't blame you  
You were sad and you wanted out  
So finally the higher powers let you._

_Even with you gone I try to remember you  
Even with your absence I search for your light.  
I find your light through singing songs  
And laughing away the sadness you left._

_I'll remember you, as I'm sure you remember me  
Look down on me fondly  
And guide me with that special light  
I'll always look for it._

_You left me but you didn't  
You left me but I don't blame you  
You were sad and you wanted out  
So finally the higher powers let you._

_I'm happier now and less confused  
You're light shines even when you're far away  
You're love for me has only strengthened  
And I thank you for the love you left behind._

_Even with you gone I try to remember you  
Even with your absence I search for your light.  
I find your light through singing songs  
And laughing away the sadness you left._

_You left me but you didn't  
You left me but I don't blame you  
You were sad and you wanted out  
So finally the higher powers let you._

_I love you  
I miss you  
I remember you  
I fondly whisper your name._

_You left me but your didn't  
You left me but I don't blame you  
You were sad and you wanted out  
So finally the higher powers let you._

_I find your light through singing songs  
And laughing away the sadness you left._

When Pavel finished up, he looked around and saw that almost everyone (not counting Len and Spock) had tears in his eyes. Pavel smiled, "It's called 'Searching For Light' and its dedicated to someone I love very much…" he said mysteriously.

"Well? What are we waiting for?" Kirk asked, wiping his eyes on sleeve, "With this song, I think we're going to pound Khan and Romulans…"

"Definitely," Hikaru replied, sitting down at the drums.

Pavel nodded and began teaching the guitarists the chords, carefully tapping his foot on the floor to help Hikaru with the main beats (Hikaru was the only one allowed to play around with percussion to make it sound better. Pavel could become a Russian prison guard when he wanted to be).

When he was turned away to practice, Scotty tried to think about someone who Pavel could love… but was so obviously gone from the world. Pavel lived with a woman who looked almost like Pavel, save for a shorter stature and lighter blonde hair and bluer eyes. Either that was his mother or… then where was his father? _Was_ that woman Pavel's mother in the first place? So many questions.

"Something the matter, Scotty?" Hikaru suddenly asked, when tapping the cymbals didn't seem appropriate for such a slow, sad song like the one they were practicing.

Scotty jumped a little, and noticed that he had stopped strumming the chords and strings he had just been taught. "N… Well. Yes. I know _nothing_ about that kid. He seems all happy, but when he's not… he gets all gloomy and you can't help but want to make him feel better. You ever notice that about him?"

Hikaru smiled, "Yeah. But _I_ never get to comfort him. Lucky bastard," he said.

Scotty blushed, "You can… you can comfort him the next time, if you want, Hikaru…"

Hikaru shook his head, "I don't think I would be as good as you, Scotty. He got comforted by you, and he got the idea for a song. I talked to him over the phone, and I only gave him vague ideas. No. When it comes to things that matter, you're much better."

Scotty blushed a little, turned away from the others, and continued practicing his part for the song. Hikaru smiled slightly and began fiddling with the triangle, liking the sound, but wondering if it would fit.

* * *

After practice, Pavel found himself on the curb in the cold, breathing white crystals and humming the notes to the new song. Goodness, that was a stroke of genius on his part. Without Scotty's pep talk, he would have never remembered all the inspiration his mother had given him.

_Scotty_… Pavel though as he brought his hands up to his mouth to breath into them and keep them warm. Despite the gloves on his hands, the cold November air was not treating him so well.

He suddenly heard voices behind him. "I don't care that he's younger than even me. He's a human being, and he deserves respect, especially yours, Len!"

It was Hikaru's voice. Pavel turned his body, but he could not see what was going on. It was happening as Len and Hikaru were putting the bass drum in Hikaru's truck. They didn't notice the curly-haired brunet as he crept up to watch and listen.

"He wrote a pretty damn good song, though," Len was saying.

"He did. And for that you should be grateful," Hikaru shot back, "With this song, we have a chance not to be shunned by our fans."

"But…"

"Stop being so stubborn about Pasha, Len! He's our song-writer and you're going to have to live with it!"

Pavel took a chance and looked over the car he was hiding behind. He hated to eavesdrop, but this was Leonard McCoy and Hikaru Sulu… Pavel should at least be allowed to overhear at least one conversation, right?

As he looked over the car's hood, he saw Len move instinctively close to Hikaru, his eyes darkening slightly as he leaned in and… kissed the other?

Hikaru's eyes and grown bigger in the five seconds it took Len to detach himself. There was an awkward silence between the two before Len made an angry growling noise and took off.

Pavel's eyes were wide, but he heard Uhura honk and decided not to dwell on what he had just seen. But it was the oddest thing he had ever seen… what had gotten in to the surly old would-have-been doctor?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight:

Pavel was more nervous than usual. Sitting in his usual spot in between Mr. Spock and Nyota, he was clutching at his knees through the denim of his pants. Khan and the Romulans were going up first, and even as they played—a sad song obviously about how the world was crumbling all around them because of humanity—Pavel couldn't get his mind off the fact that they were just so _good_.

"You're song is better. These angst-ridden pretty boys don't know true sadness," Nyota told him, putting her hands on his upper arms and rubbing them comfortingly.

"And they don't know how to convey them into… ah… _pretty_ melodies and harmonies," Spock added, cleaning out his ear with his pinky in a classic 'um, ow, my very sensitive ears' fashion.

The crowd, however, seemed moved and was really listening to the deep meaning behind Khan's song. One lyric, however, Khan repeated and looked for Pavel in the crowd each time. That's why Pavel was nervously glued to his chair.

_I don't want to wake up  
Because the world won't wake up with me one day  
Looking for a face in the crowd  
Who will beat me down in some way_…

It was part of the chorus, but the chorus was built of two stanzas. Somehow, Khan knew that Pavel would be nervous. But why would Khan want him to win? Khan was just as competitive as Kirk, and though he was smoother than the latter, calmer, even, he was scary and… Pavel hated to think what he could do. He just hoped the song made the slick-haired musician change his mind about doing anything drastic to him or one of the members of the Brothers Grimm.

* * *

The crowd loved Khan and the Romulans. When the song finished, there was a standing ovation in the crowd, and a ripple of nervousness went straight up Pavel from his stomach. He tried to get up, but Nyota knew better and had put her arm straight across his lap, and applied pressure when Pavel tried to run. He then proceeded to ball his fists as the Brothers Grimm were setting up. He closed his eyes and tried to breath, but his heart was beating too fast. Nyota took his hand with her right hand and rubbed the boy's back with the other hand, humming Pasha's Lullaby to calm him.

He slowly calmed as Kirk introduced himself, and away they went.

Spock turned from his little song-writer to the crowd. They seemed to have gone from hating the world to listening carefully to the words being sung. The girls soon started to cry softly, and even put their heads on their boyfriends' shoulders as they listened, enthralled by how pretty the accompaniment was. When the song ended, there was no contest about who had won. The crowd when wild—cheering and crying—and demanded an encore of the song, which Kirk and his band did again, this time upping the tempo and making it semi-techno-ish, which didn't take away from the song at all.

Pavel had slowly unwound in this period, even smiling a little as Nyota hugged him fairly hard, daring to break his bones. "They like it… they… they really like it," the Russian whizkid said.

"Of course they did! Khan doesn't know true sadness," Nyota assured him again.

Spock was watching the crowd as well, smiling slightly. "Looks like we'll be recording this. A slow version and this new version as a bonus, hm?" he said, mostly to himself.

Pavel smiled, "Perfect. We almost have enough to put out an album now, right?"

"Almost. Maybe five or six more," Spock replied, "I hope that's all right?"

Pavel looked at Nyota, who looked to him, then to Scotty onstage. They had just finished, and the crowd was once more going nuts. The Brothers Grimm bowed as Khan and the Romulans glared from the back of the venue.

"I think it's going to be okay, Mr. Spock," Pavel replied, smiling and elbowing his friend.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine:

"A break? And I thought Mr. Spock was a cruel taskmaster that worked you until you couldn't work any more," Nyota had told Pavel over the phone the night before, "And since you're young, it would be _weeks_ until that happened."

That morning, Nyota had showed up at his door and had dragged him into her car. "We're going to the mall today, bitch. You've got three days to redo your wardrobe for Scotty," she said, winking.

"What? What! Okay, one, do not call me a bitch when you clearly am _my _bitch, and two, what's wrong with my clothes?" Pavel asked as he slid in to the passenger side of Nyota's red car.

"Oh no, Pasha. Remember when we were on opposite teams during dodge ball? I hit you so hard with the ball, and next time you got a chance, you missed me when you had a clear shot!" Nyota replied.

"… We've never played any of the games in gym. We just walk around the track and talk about random shit," Pavel pointed out.

"Before eighth grade, Pasha," Nyota replied, flicking him lightly behind his ear. "About your wardrobe!" she shouted before Pavel could retaliate, "Though it is cute, it needs to be cuter. I want to see you _both_ blushing maniacally when he sees you!"

"What! I don't—" he stopped when he saw Nyota give him a look when they stopped at a freshly turned red light. "Okay… I do blush maniacally around him. You got me."

"Isn't wonderful to work side-by side with your idol? And because you work for them, I get to ogle Len more often," Nyota said, staring off into space, and, because of that, having to pound on the gas pedal a few seconds after the light turned green again.

Pavel was reminded of Len kissing Hikaru a few days before,, but said nothing. He just chuckled lightly to himself as Nyota swore at the car behind her, who had "honked her out of her daydream about Len McCoy because he was in a hurry."

Once they were at the mall, Nyota and Pavel walked in hand in hand, though most of the patrons though they were two girls and not a male and a female. They grooved out to the music playing for a while until they got bored and walked into the first clothing boutique they could find that had Pavel's simplistic yet cute style of clothing.

* * *

After a day of shopping and eating and driving around, Nyota and Pavel returned to Nyota's house, where they disappeared into her basement room and turned up the music. They sat with their backs against the wall as they discussed school things like Nyota's midterm scores and how finals were going to suck for her in her biology class. Finally, Nyota moved to inspect the clothes they had bought. Most of the articles were for Pavel, with a few exceptions; a belt here, a necklace there…

"Omigod, Pasha. I wish wish _wish_ I could be there when Scotty sees you in these new outfits!" she cooed, grabbing on to Pavel's arm with a vice-like grip.

"Ow! Jeez, Nyota! You _know_ I'm going t mix-and-match old with new, right?" he asked, trying to pull himself out of her embrace.

She held on tight, even as Pavel fell on his back and she was above him in a compromising position. They giggled uncontrollably, Nyota perfectly aware that a relationship between her and Pavel was nil, and Pavel not even noticing it was a compromising position. Nyota helped him up and sighed, "Fine. Be that way. Actually…" she thought for a second, "the pink button down over your faded red shirt would look nice… and that new yellow scarf? Yes… Scotty won't be able to take his eyes off you! Couple that with those tight jeans we got you—"

"You forced me to buy," Pasha corrected, but the dark-skinned beauty was hardly listening.

"—and Scotty will be staring at your well defined package or your ass at any given interval…" she finished, grinning at Pavel.

"NYOTA UHURA!" Pavel screeched, falling face-first into the comforter to hide his blush.

Nyota laughed, "There, there, Pasha-dear," she cooed, rubbing his back, "We all can't be totally courageous enough to jump our crushes bones. Mmm… Bones," she said.

Pavel looked at her and crooked one eyebrow higher than the other, "I could introduce you two, you know…"

Nyota giggled, "Honey, I've been 'shipping him and Hikaru since I got into that band. Kirk and Spock's looks to each other aren't so innocent either…" she said.

"Right… bandslash. I forget you were into that stuff…" Pavel replied, sitting back up. "Turn up that song, will ya?"

The Brothers Grimm's version of 'The Beat Goes On' was playing.

They jumped off the bed and rocked out to their anthem. When it ended, they returned to the bed, where Nyota continued the conversation: "I have living proof that bandslash is real, hon. You and Scotty. The song-writer and second guitarist…"

She squealed quite loudly and swooned a little.

_And the bass guitarist and the drummer…_ thought Pavel quickly as he returned his head to the comforter and breathed out, his eyes now on the wall next to them. "You are a weirdo," was his heavily accented reply.

"It's because you're so cute and he's so stoic and…" she began to pant lightly, "I think I have to write a fic about this," she said, and grabbed her laptop.

Pavel flipped over to his back and pushed himself up using his arms, "Come _on_, Nyota! I'm _right here_!"

"Shush. Scotty just commented on your perfectly picked out outfit and is undressing you with his eyes," Nyota replied.

Pavel scoffed and covered his face with his hands, "Thanks, Nyota. I love you too!"

* * *

When Pavel got home that night, he was red-faced, out of breath, and itching to make some new songs just in case the Brothers Grimm needed them. Nyota had read her entire one-shot out loud to him, making him blush… a lot. Nyota was a wonderful writer, being a linguist and all, but the things she wrote, though not at all pornographic, were certainly risqué, to say the least.

When he got inside, he joined his Auntie for dinner, and then retired to his attic bedroom to write songs and see which one of them he could record as an actual song.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten:

"Shit, Pavel," Kirk said, seeing the three songs the younger male had cranked out during his little break. The others had been recording, of course, and were just about done with the album. They just needed four or five more songs from Pavel.

"Well… at least he's getting our songs done for the album," Spock said, looking over the music. "These seem… happier."

"Yeah. The first one was thanks to Uhura embarrassing the hell out of me, but otherwise, I was in a good mood while writing," Pavel explained. "Shall I teach them to you?"

"Yes please!" Hikaru called, throwing his hand in the air cheerfully.

Pavel laughed, and sat down at the piano. He was wearing a rather old outfit of his, too chicken (or something) to wear any of the newer things Uhura had bought for him, save for a very lovely gold scarf they had found on sale. The band began by listening to the song before Pavel began teaching the players their parts.

* * *

"What up, Pasha?" Nyota asked, her standard greeting to the Russian male.

"I need a ride. Don't I always call you for these on weekday afternoons?" Pavel asked.

"Oh," Nyota seemed a bit lost on the other end. "It's my one-year anniversary over here. My coworkers want to take me out to a _real_ dinner to celebrate. We were just out the door… Can you get a ride with Hikaru or someone?"

Pavel sighed, "I _guess_…" he said, looking around nervously. "I'll see you tomorrow. And if you mack with anyone, I want full details."

"I'll kiss and tell if you do the same for me, dolly," Nyota replied.

Pavel blushed and muttered, "Like that will ever happen," before he hung up the phone and breathed deeply before he started asking around to the band members.

Kirk: "Got a hot date tonight. Need to get ready as soon as possible. Later, though, Pavel!"

Spock: "It's a lovely walk from here to my residence, but I do not think you would enjoy walking with me all the way across the city to your house, Mr. Chekov. I apologize."

Len was out of the question. Too scary.

Hikaru: "Sorry, Pasha. I've got to drive all the way to the sticks to my parents' house for dinner tonight. I want to get a head start, and going across town would be… more time from my own travels than necessary."

Scotty: "Sure. I got some practicing to do, what with this pile of music you dumped on us, but I should have you home by bedtime."

So that was how Pavel managed to spend the evening with Scotty…

* * *

After a few minutes of careful strumming, Scotty paused. Pavel had removed himself, telling the older male that he would be in the room next door, playing the piano while Scotty practiced. Scotty listened to the boy, who was playing the lullaby that Scotty had introduced to the world. He smiled and proceeded to put his guitar away. He hadn't gotten the chords and harmonies quite down yet, but there was something more important to him right that moment.

He knocked softly on the door, and Pavel didn't hesitate for a moment in finishing the piece (which he had been singing in Russian, not the English translation) before the stool slid across the floor and Pavel opened the door. "Ready, Scotty?" he asked, a smile on his face.

"Yes, I am," Scotty replied. "Listen, lad… Would you… like to get some coffee with me and chat? I understand we haven't really gotten to know each other. I hear you talk to Hikaru over the phone every chance you two get, but… ah… I'd like to be your friend too, you know?"

Pavel flushed a little, but grabbed his coat from a hanger on the back of the door. "Uhm… sure," he replied after a few moments of chewing on his bottom lip.

* * *

The two arrived a little hole-in-the-wall café Nyota and Pavel often frequented. Scotty didn't know many cafes in the area. Bars, he could tell you the location and how many stars he'd give from 1 to 10, but cafes, not so much.

The barista, a young, curly-haired female, smiled at Pavel and said, "The usual, Mr. Chekov?"

Pavel nodded and put a hand in front of Scotty as the older male made to pay.

"What you'll have, sir?" the girl asked of the Scotsman.

"Decaf. I got to get home and get some actual sleep tonight," Scotty replied flashing her a smile.

The woman nodded and rung up the order, "Where's Ms. Uhura tonight?" she asked Pavel.

Pavel sighed, "She's got a thing with her coworkers tonight. This is a coworker of mine, Montgomery Scott. Scotty, this is my classmate, Gaila."

"Omigod. You work for the Brothers Grimm?" Gaila said in a low whisper, "Omigod!"

"Shh, Gaila. I know three-quarters of your costumers have no clue who he is, but I still want to keep it on the DL…" Pavel replied.

"I went to your last two shows. I love the new stuff. Was that you, Pavel?" Gaila asked both of them.

Both Scotty and Pavel nodded. She squealed low under breath and Pavel shook his head, laughing just a bit. He paid for their drinks, and Gaila said, "School tomorrow. I want your autograph, Pav," Gaila said, winking a little.

Pavel chuckled and moved to get his drink from the higher counter a few feet away from the register. Scotty followed him a bit like a lost puppy, but saw his coffee next to Pavel's drink and grabbed it.

The café was mostly empty at this time of night. Most of the patrons were at home with families, or didn't want to brave the snowfall that night. So Scotty and Pavel sat down in a corner and stared at their feet for a few minutes before Scotty decided to break the awkward silence.

"Uhm… so… that lullaby… what's so special about it?" he asked.

"What?" Pavel asked.

"You made a fuss about us putting it on the album. So spill, why is it so special?"

Pavel looked at a spot on the wooden table and began to trace it with his index finger a little. "Well… my mom wrote it for me. She sang it to me when I was little, and when she taught me how to play, I promised I would put music to it. It was our little secret."

"I see. But I'm sure your mother would love to hear it as it is now. If its so special, wouldn't she want to spread it a little. You're her little boy, right?" Scotty asked.

Pavel's face darkened, "My… mom died when I was seven," he confessed.

Scotty really felt like an asshole then, "Oh, jeez. I'm sorry for bringing all this up!"

"No. I haven't told anyone but Uhura about my mom. I live… with my Aunt Natalya…"

"You… not even Hikaru? You haven't told Hikaru?" Scotty asked.

"No," Pavel looked up at him and smiled only a little. "You've gotten into the ranks as one of my closest friends because of what you know…"

"Wow… but…" Scotty put a hand over Pavel's free hand, "That lullaby is the only connection you have to your mum, right?"

Pavel flushed at Scotty's warmth over his hand, "Da. That's why I was a little leary of you even playing the song in a public venue."

"Oi. Jesus Christ. I'm so sorry about all that…" Scotty said again.

"You didn't know," Pavel said, "I'd long forgiven you for it," he said, his eyes lowering to the table again.

Scotty and Pavel were silent once more, sipping their drinks. Scotty's hand still lay over Pavel's, but Pavel wasn't about to move his hand out from under it. It was nice.

"Now… what about your dad?" Scotty asked carefully.

"He was always drunk. Mama and I left him when I was three. Then Mama got really sick and… died when I was seven," Pavel explained.

"Jesus," was all Scotty could say at the moment. "Then… that song you had us sing for the song-off… was about your mother. The talk we had reminded you of your mother and so…"

"… I wrote about how I felt about her. What I still feel about her even now," Pavel replied quietly.

Scotty took about a minute to really look at the kid. Both of their hearts were thundering in their heads, "You're a really strong kid, Pavel…" he said.

Pavel didn't say anything, but Scotty knew he was smiling inwardly. Scotty grinned and looked at his watch, "I better be getting you home…"

"Da. Th-thank you for everything," Pavel replied.

Scotty was already standing, the hand that was once covering Pavel's now rummaging in his pocket for his hat. He looked over at Pavel and smiled, "That's what friends are for, right? Especially… close friends. Like we've become."

Scotty didn't really know how those words would shift in meaning for them both…


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven:

When Scotty returned to his little apartment that night after dropping Pavel off at his house (finally, he figured out where the kid lived…), he suddenly had an epiphany as he dropped his keys into a bowl and sat down on his couch after putting away his hat, coat, gloves and scarf in the hall closet.

The reason why he had taken such an interest in the kid wasn't because the kid was talented… well, that wasn't the main reason, at least. "Do I have a crush on a seventeen-year-old Russian whizkid?" he asked himself.

He knew no one would answer. But he knew the answer to the question even upon uttering the question. He flushed deeply and picked up his cell phone, calling the first person who appeared in his mind.

Kirk and Scotty had met in high school a little later than Kirk had met Len. Hikaru had come along even later, with Spock coming up last as their manager. But in high school, Scotty, Kirk and Len were tight. Since Len was terrible at advice, and Kirk had gotten Scotty through a couple of bad break-ups, Scotty went with the suave lead-singer of the Brothers Grimm.

"'Lo," Kirk said.

"Hey, Jim," Scotty replied.

"What's up? My date's about to get here any minute now," Kirk stated.

"Oh, you mean the elf-eared man?" Scotty teased.

He could _feel_ Kirk heating up on the other end, "Shut up, you. How was your _date_ with Cutie McCutiePants?" He meant Pavel Chekov.

"It wasn't a date, Jim," Scotty replied calmly, not giving Kirk what he wanted. "We went out for coffee, and I think he does that with _most_ of his friends," Scotty replied. "Anyway, even though I may as well have a crush on him, he wouldn't have a crush on me when he's got some very pretty girl friends…"

"Okay. One, you just admitted you had a crush on the kid," Kirk replied, the smirk apparent even through his words, "and two, he's more than bisexual. I know you only have a not-straight-dar, but you've got to understand that the reason the kid attracts more girls than even I do is because he is totally and completely taken to the male sex as oppose to them. Girls dig guys who date other guys."

Scotty flushed, "How do you _know_ all this?" he asked.

"When I came out of the closet to my ex-girlfriend last year, she told me it would have broken her heart less if I had told her I was fully gay. Then we would have stayed friends," Kirk replied. "Not important. So you like the adorable Russian whizkid? Is it the accent, or his adorable naïveté?"

"Shut _up_, Kirk," Scotty hissed.

"Ooh, breaking out the last name. Pissy Scotsman! Watch out world!"

"Shut _up,_" Scotty hissed again, "You're not helping. I called hoping you would _help_."

"Jesus H. Christ on a stick, Scotty," Kirk said, chuckling, "I'm just messing with you. So you have a crush on the kid! Bones just called and told me he was thinking about going out with Sulu, and _that_ is a pretty big age gap."

"Jim," Scotty said, filing that fact into his memory database, "That's seven years. Pavel _is eight years younger than I am_."

"Oh, I see. I think the rule is when the kid is eighteen and older, you can be ten years older and it's not creepy…" Kirk replied, thinking about it out loud. "But it doesn't matter! The kid is adorably naïve, adorably Russian, and I don't think he gives a flying fuck what the world thinks. I say go for it."

Scotty blanched. "You _really_ are no fucking help, James Tiberius Kirk…" And with that, the Scotsman snapped his cell phone shut.

Scotty would have to think about this for a while. In the mean time… maybe talking to Pavel wasn't such a good idea.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve:

Something was off the next day at rehearsal. It was as if the night before had never happened and then some. Kirk and Spock seemed a tad bit closer, though. But Scotty avoided Pavel, and even flirted with Len some, which made both Hikaru and Pavel sulk just a bit.

Pavel didn't have another song ready for the band to practice, so Spock decided that the next day would be a recording day, so the band practiced all the new songs once or twice or until they got it right.

Pavel tried to engage Scotty in a conversation after practice, but Scotty brushed him off and left him in the dust. The other band members were still around, and had seen the whole thing. McCoy, clearly at least warming up to the seventeen-year-old Russian, patted his back before he left the building, and Spock and Hikaru tried to cheer the boy up by talking about the next gig they were having and how much of a hit all the new songs were.

Hikaru left, and Spock went to close up the rooms, though (save for one, for some odd reason), and Pavel was left alone with Kirk, who was strumming his guitar despite the freezing cold winds and the threat of snow.

"You know, Scotty gets freaked out easily. Under pressure, he can be sort of a dick," Kirk said, feeling the lonely energy surrounding his talented song-writer.

Pavel said nothing as he curled his legs into his torso, hugging them close and sighing into his knees.

Kirk strummed another few notes, sounding a bit like "Angels" by Robbie Williams. He stopped, "Give him time to get over himself. He just really likes you and doesn't want to see you hurt…"

"Likes me?" Pavel asked, glancing over at the talented lead singer.

"He likes you. He's just a bit afraid of consequences. I kept telling him you wouldn't give a damn what happened to you two but… He's hot-headed about your safety…" Kirk replied.

Pavel blushed, "Oh. _That's_ what you meant…"

"Give it time, kid," Kirk replied, ruffling the younger boy's hair. "And if he ever does something you don't like, don't be afraid to call me and I won't hesitate to come over there and slap him upside the head."

Pavel smiled at Jim and nodded, but his head turned as there was a loud honking noise and Uhura struggled to stop her car, as she was going a bit too fast in the parking lot. Pavel grabbed his backpack and waved at the other man before running up to the car, jumping in, and speeding off.

* * *

Kirk smiled at his work and stood up, stretching out his legs before glancing behind him. Spock was just coming out of the rehearsal hall behind him.

"Good work, Jim. But wasn't it _you_ that freaked Montgomery out in the first place?" the elf-eared man asked.

"Yeah. Think of that little exchange as a kind of redemption," Kirk replied. "I really never meant to freak Scotty out in the first place. I want both of them to be happy."

"I know you do, Jim," Spock replied. "The chess board is all set up, by the way."

"An invitation to dinner was all you needed, Spock," Jim replied, grinning like a schoolboy at his manager.

"I believe a little game of chess would soothe my mind so that my heart wouldn't pound so much when I do," Spock replied, a slight smirk on his face.

"You know, if the others catch us, Hikaru will write about us in his blog," Kirk replied, putting his guitar back in its case and joining Spock as he walked back up to the rehearsal hall doors.

"I'm aware of that. Let him. But he'll have to write about young Mr. Chekov and Montgomery as well," Spock replied, opening the door for the blond man.

"And Len and Hikaru. Did you see Hikaru's face when Scotty flirted with Len? It was almost more heartbreaking than Pavel's face when _Scotty_ flirted with him," Kirk replied, smiling. He shook his head, though. "That just makes me sad and guilty for starting all this…"

"What do you mean?" Spock asked, opening the door to the room he didn't lock.

Indeed, a game of chess was waiting for them. Kirk went for the black pieces. "I mean, _I_ chose Pavel to write our songs. _I_ told Scotty to go for it despite the age difference. _I _screwed things up for everyone."

Spock sat down and the game began.

"No Jim. Choosing Pavel was the best thing you could have done for the group. Without your leadership in these matters, you would have still be doing gigs at washed up eateries instead of recording music and finding better venues in which to play. Now, we are singing original songs and our fans love us so much more for it all," Spock replied.

Jim thought about this as his bishop took Spock's pawn. "You're absolutely right. But… I freaked Scotty out about the one thing that Scotty seems to care about most. I heard he actually drank coffee at a café instead of doing his regular Scotch whisky at one of the sleazy bars downtown. He felt much better about caffeine in his system for once instead of alcohol…"

Spock nodded, "Indeed Pavel has changed Montgomery for the better… I just hope that all is well in the end…"

"A _Comedy of Errors_ as oppose to a _Romeo and Juliet?_" Kirk asked.

"If you mean a comedy as oppose to a tragedy, then yes. I see no mistaken identity _or_ two clans separated by war here."

"Smartass."

"Checkmate."

"I let you win," Kirk pointed out.

"I know," Spock replied, "Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"

"I thought you'd never ask."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen:

It was finally Friday night. Uhura called Pavel up a few days prior: "Hey, since I was such a bad friend for making you go home with Scotty, can I make it up by spending the night over there?" She had heard about the way Scotty was treating her best friend, but she wanted to discuss the man's punishment with Pavel before she went into action.

"No need. I'll get over it," Pavel replied stoically.

"Okay… but I think you'll need a little bit of Nyota-style TLC to do it," Nyota had replied.

So that Friday, Uhura had gone home with Pavel, and they had just finished up eating pizza and watching reruns of _The Daily Show_ and _The Colbert Report_. They had now retired to Pavel's attic room permanently to talk and laugh about their weeks at school and at work.

Pavel still seemed a bit flustering when discussing the goings-on at rehearsals. Uhura saw this and stopped his story about rehearsal that day: "Pasha, honey, what's on your mind right now? You seem detached and flustery…"

Pavel blushed a little, "Uhm… well… Kirk told me that Scotty… liked me."

Uhura's hands flashed to cover her mouth. "Oooh!" she shouted, then began to sing, "Scotty and Pasha, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Pavel shushed her by coming up behind her and putting his hand over her mouth, but she was giggling to hard to continue singing or even to childish lick his hand.

"You're really excited about this, aren't you?" Pavel hissed, but there was a distinct smile on his face.

He took his hand off Uhura's face and allowed her a few moments of giggling before her answer, "I want you to be happy, my darling son. I'm a good mother, I would never deny you happiness. Plus I have a bet with Gaila about who's going to kiss the other first. I said Scotty would be the one, but she told me you have more balls that him."

Pavel shook his head, "Bandslash fanfiction and now random bets with schoolmates. What next, Nyota?"

Nyota grinned, "Making you audition for the community theater? They're putting on _RENT_," she said, grinning.

"Rehearsals would coincide with work," Pavel replied.

"Night rehearsal, love," Nyota pointed out,

"No," Pavel replied. "You'd buy tickets fro the band and I'd be flustery and stuttery with Scotty watching me onstage. Who would I be? The drug addict or the video maker?"

"Neither. I'd make Scotty try out and he would be wonderful as the homeless guy. Making you Angel."

"That would me I die of AIDS you idiot," Pavel replied.

"So?" she asked, her voice lowered a little as she sang, "_But sweet kisses I've got to spare, I'll be there and I'll cover you!_"

Pavel pushed her to make her stop and she broke out into giggles. But Pavel was once more a bit morose. Nyota stopped laughing, "What's up?"

"Scotty is avoiding me, and yet Kirk says he likes me… has feelings for me… whatever."

Nyota rubbed her friend's back. "Honey… you've got to express yourself more. The band needs one more song for the album, right?" she asked.

Pavel looked up her, then at his keyboard and music sitting on the desk. He got up from their place on the pillow-covered floor and went to the keyboard, turning it on. He looked at the clock and put in ear phones. Nyota got hers and plugged them in to the other jack. "Here, speak what's on you mind and we'll get it into song mode…" she said.

Pasha looked at the piano, "How… _How can I be nothing to you, when you miss me and I miss you_?"

Nyota nodded her head, "Amen, brother," she replied.

He glared at her and she put a finger to her lips to shush herself.

Pasha continued, "_I'm always there even if you can't see me. I'm always around to watch you fly_…"

Nyota snapped her fingers a bit to the invisible rhythm, "_One day I'll spread these wings_—"

"—_To join you in flight_!" Pasha replied, smiling a bit. Then his smile faded, "_But only if I wasn't invisible to you_…"

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen:

Pasha brought the song on Monday, hoping he wasn't too chicken to sing in front of the others. Sadly, Scotty had some immunity to sickness and was there along with the rest, waiting patiently for Pavel to start singing through the song, as he usually did before teaching the band members their parts.

"_How can I be nothing to you  
When you miss me and I miss you  
I'm always there even if you can't see me  
I'm always around to watch you fly  
One day I'll spread these wings  
To join you in flight  
But only if I wasn't invisible to you._

_There are times when you look at me  
Where my heart just stops  
But one little word makes it go again  
Faster and faster  
So with you not talking  
My heart dulls and I'm moving slower._

_How can I be nothing to you  
When you miss me and I miss you  
I'm always there even if you can't see me  
I'm always around to watch you fly  
One day I'll spread these wings  
To join you in flight  
But only if I wasn't invisible to you._

_Do I really just disappear into the background?  
When you do see me there's that glare  
What did I do?  
All I did was love you  
Reach out to you  
Let you be my guiding light.  
_

_I wouldn't be here without you.  
My life would be null and void.  
Our friendship means everything to me.  
My life with you means everything to me.  
Don't shower me with glares  
Or go on ignoring me.  
I don't like being invisible, either._

_How can I be nothing to you  
When you miss me and I miss you  
I'm always there even if you can't see me  
I'm always around to watch you fly  
One day I'll spread these wings  
To join you in flight  
But only if I wasn't invisible to you._

_I don't like the silence,  
I don't like the glares.  
All I ever wanted was to love you  
All I ever wanted was for this love  
To be seen and heard by all.  
I never meant to hurt you,  
Whatever I did._

_How can I be nothing to you  
When you miss me and I miss you  
I'm always there even if you can't see me  
I'm always around to watch you fly  
One day I'll spread these wings  
To join you in flight  
But only if I wasn't invisible to you._

_One day I'll spread these wings  
But only if I wasn't invisible to you…" _he sang, the song slow toward the beginning, and swelling near the end. He glanced back at Scotty when he was done for only a brief moment before he turned back to the music, "And… here's the drum beats. It's four/four, as usual…"

The band was simply still in shock at the feeling behind the words. Pavel blushed and looked down at the keys before Kirk elbowed Hikaru and Hikaru started the bass drum, pounding out a four/four beat. "I think some light cymbals and some bells might be nice…" he said, looking toward Pavel as he suggested his percussion.

"This is your baby, Hikaru," Pavel replied, smiling back at his friend. He looked to Len to give him his chords, going through the entire song as he did so, as the chords changed a lot, this time. When it came to Scotty, Pavel rushed a bit, but Scotty took it in stride and decided to practice it softly as Pavel worked with Kirk.

Pavel was free to go, and the band members split up to practice individually before they would come together again to practice. Pavel watched as the four dispersed to different rooms, his eyes lingering on Scotty as he picked up his acoustic guitar and left. Then Pavel sprang into action.

"Scotty!" he said, jumping up after him. They were both in the hall when Scotty paused, sighing quite loudly, but not turning to face the younger male. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry. I had hoped that song would be an apology and… and a confession," Pavel said, blushing lightly and looking off at the wall beside him.

Scotty looked to the side as well, as he could get a glimpse of the kid's face even though his head was rooted forward. Then he shook his head, embarrassed at the words he had just heard and slammed the door in Pasha's face.

A cry came from Pavel's throat, but Pavel didn't say anything more. He balled his hands into fists and ran outside in the cold to call Nyota.

* * *

Hikaru and Scotty were the last two out of rehearsal that night. Spock had gone home with Jim, handing Scotty the keys right before he left. They were silent as they checked the rooms and turned out the lights a locked all the individual rooms and such. Scotty passed the keys to Scotty, who lived closer to Spock and could drop the keys off in his mailbox or something on his way home.

"It doesn't matter, you know. He's turning eighteen in the summer anyway," Hikaru said as the keys passed to Scotty's hand. "And the legal age of consent is 16. It doesn't matter about the eight years between you."

They hadn't even started a conversation about it, but Hikaru could tell what was wrong. He cared enough about Pavel, as well, and he had heard the tiny cry from Pavel as he had left that day. "If it's any consolation, my uncle and his partner are ten years apart. Albert's 46 and Ernie's 32. They're very happy together," Hikaru added.

Scotty's face fell, "He probably hates me now."

"No…" Hikaru replied, shaking his head and smiling, "A kid like that? He'll be more stubborn than ever. He really likes you, Scotty."

Scotty was silent for a moment. Hikaru turned around to get to his car but paused and looked back, "If you like him, you like him. And I know for a fact that Pavel would be grateful to talk to you again."

Scotty turned to retort, but Hikaru was already in his big truck, starting the engine up. Scotty looked down at the keys in his hands and shook his head. He stood there for a moment before he began humming a familiar tune to himself:

"_Hush my dear, close your eyes  
Have no fear for dark skies…_"

He smiled, an idea forming into his head. "If I like him, I like him… He'd be… he'd be grateful if I talked to him again…"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen:

"Did you hear?" Hikaru asked as Pavel came in the next day (after much pushing from Nyota).

"What?" Pavel asked, avoiding eye-contact with Scotty.

"Khan and the Romulans are opening for us next week. At our big opening concert for the new album?" Hikaru reminded the younger boy.

Pavel bit his bottom lip, trying not to burst out laughing, "How's Kirk handling the news?" he asked.

"He's been in a practice room pounding at the piano for the past half hour," Spock replied, coming up behind him. "I told him to get out of there, because we need to go record today, and I forgot to tell you all about it… the van is out front, idling patiently for us…"

Hikaru groaned, "I'm driving again. Spock, I don't trust you behind the wheel of even a tricycle."

"I don't trust myself either. But you do not always have to drive, Hikaru…"

"Yes," Hikaru replied, getting up to go pack up his drums in the van, "I do."

* * *

Scotty found Spock in the controls room before the band began even setting up. "Mr. Spock?"

"What is it, Montgomery?" Spock asked, clasping his hands behind his back.

"I… I have a favor to ask you, sir," Scotty said, fingering the paper with the notes Pavel had written over the Russian (and English translation written in Scotty's hand below) Cryllic. "This is _Pasha's_ Lullaby."

Spock noticed the stress and knew Scotty wasn't just using the song name. "Yes… it is."

"Can… can Pavel and I play it together on the CD? Him on piano and me on acoustic?" Scotty asked, _it'll also give me a reason to talk to Pavel again without it being weird. Not the point, but who gives a shit?_

Spock thought about this prospect for a while and then looked at Scotty. "You and Pavel were quite close before yesterday."

"That has nothing to do with singing a duet with the lad," Scotty replied, crossing his arms almost like a teenager.

"I think it does… but I think I want to get Pavel's voice out there. He is an angel when he sings…"

"Then…?"

"Tell the lad that he'll be singing with you. We'll need to set up a date for the recording… but I think the fans will eat you two up," Spock replied.

Now Scotty had to find the Russian lad…

* * *

Scotty found the younger male out in the lobby, reading a rather large text with many graphs and pictures of stars and suns and large numbers. Scotty looked over his shoulder (Pavel must have been really into the book if he didn't notice a large shadow over his reading) for a minute before he cleared his throat, making the boy jump a little and look up at him.

"Hey. Sorry to scare you like that," Scotty said, putting a firm hand on the boy's shoulder. Pavel flushed. "I… I have a request I'd like to make…"

"Wh-What is it, Mr. Scott?" he asked.

"Scotty. I want you to sing your lullaby with me for the album," Scotty replied.

Pavel closed his book and slowly stood, placing the book where he had once been sitting. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"We've set up a time tomorrow evening for recording. You'll have a piano, and I'll have my guitar, and… it'll be a bonus track for the album…" Scotty said sheepishly. "I thought… the fans might like to hear what a wonderful voice the songwriter of the Brothers Grimm has…"

Pavel's flush deepened into a full-on blush and he looked off to the side, something finally clicking in his brain. He turned back to the older man and said, "Is this your way of apologizing for treating me like Mr. Cellophane, Scotty?" he asked.

Scotty blinked at the _Chicago_ reference, but smiled at the other male. "Aye. It is. Sorry for making you feel invisible for the past few days. I… I freaked."

"About me?" Pavel asked.

Scotty looked like he was about to say something when Kirk came out of the recording studio looking pretty pissed off. "KHAAAAAAAAAAAN!" he shouted, heading down the hall to the bathroom.

Scotty blushed at the interruption and Pavel laughed, looking past the older man into the recording room. "Looks like you should go get ready to record the last few songs… even though your lead singer is still steaming about Khan and the Romulans…"

Scotty gaped at Pavel like a (very cute, very Scottish) fish before he closed him mouth, regained some composure, and turned to go into the recording studio.

And Pavel wiped down his sweating hands and wrote an all caps-lock text to Uhura about what just happened (and what _almost _happened).


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen:

Saturday burned bright for a January. Chekov usually got up early and showered and dressed. His Aunt Natasha would have something for him for breakfast, and Chekov would go back up to his room and study or make up new songs. Even though the first full album of Pavel and the Brothers Grimm's songs were due out by the end of the month, at least, Pavel still got ideas for the next album, the next show… _whatever_ they might need songs for.

After a full day of writing and studying, Natalya and Pavel would eat dinner, clean up the kitchen and Pavel would retire to his room to work on recording his favorite new songs he had been working on. He was just getting started on one of his favorites from the day—"_When I look in your eyes_

_I don't realize what I'm seeing in there…_"—when the doorbell rang.

Realizing the voices were more adult (and that the second voice, at the door, was _male_), Pavel went back to his tinkering. Until he heard Natasha yelling that it was for him. Chekov turned off his equipment, realized that his backpack was downstairs, and made his way down the steps (skipping every other one), until he was down to the first floor (his house was two stories and then Pavel's attic bedroom). There he remembered he was to record 'Pasha's Lullaby' with Scotty—_because Scotty was standing in his doorway, grinning a stupidly adorable grin at him!

* * *

_

"Sorry to have surprised you," Scotty said as he drove the younger male back to the recording studio.

Pavel laughed, "I forgot I actually had something to do this weekend besides be totally humiliated by Uhura and Gaila."

"Gaila? That barista at the coffee shop we went to?" Scotty asked.

"Yeah… she and Uhura are best friends now because they both got into UCLA and they both want to room together because they were at least friends in elementary school," Chekov replied.

Scotty remembered that Pavel was a high school senior. "Where… where are _you_ going?"

"To the university here. I got into Honors classes there because of my grades. Also, their music program should help me write the songs for the Brothers Grimm," Pavel said, watching the expression in Scotty's eyes go from panic to relief, and then back to panic.

"You don't have to stay in town just because of us, Pavel," Scotty lectured, looking away from the red light they had stopped at to stare down the younger male.

Pavel shook his head, "I looked everywhere else last year, before I became part of the Brothers Grimm," he replied. "Everywhere else boasted fabulous academics, but their music programs were less than valuable to me. Even last year I was getting back into the swing of my music…"

Scotty turned back to the light, sighing as he brought the car back to moving along the less-than-crowded streets. "Well… whatever floats your boat, lad," he replied. "Are you… going to live in the dorms?"

"Probably. For the first year or two," Pavel replied.

Scotty nodded his head, watching the road for a couple of minutes before he spoke again: "You know… I live a couple blocks up the road. If the dorms get too noisy for you, you could always… come up and stay with me for a few days…"

Pavel blinked out the window before turning his head to look at Scotty's profile. "Well… but my Aunt Natasha lives in town too…" he said.

Scotty's face turned crimson and he tried to look for an excuse, "Well… you live out in the suburbs, and the University is in the center of town! You don't have a car and it would be easy for me to just… pick you up and let you stay over than you taking the bus down to your aunt's…" he argued.

Pavel smiled and finally let out a high chuckle, "I'm sorry to be laughing at you, Scotty… but… your offer is a sound one. If it gets to be too noisy for me to study, I'll call you, okay?" he asked.

_I'll really be lookin' forward to that_, Scotty thought as he turned into the recording studio's parking lot. Spock was sitting on the curb waiting for them, having looked like he walked there in the four feet of newly fallen snow that lay on the ground. He welcomed them and led them into the studio to record the duet version of "Pasha's Lullaby."

* * *

Pavel laughed as Scotty led him out of the studio. Spock hung back near the doors as he made to lock them, watching the camaraderie between the Russian whizkid and the Scottish misfit.

Pavel and Scotty got to Scotty's car and Scotty paused, "Man… I could go for a hot chocolate. Isn't January supposed to get _warm_ here?" he asked.

Pavel grinned, "Well, that little hole-in-the-wall café is always opened at this hour. I doubt anyone will have braved a trek out there, but it's worth a shot. Gaila always takes the evening shift and she's good for a bit of gossip."

Scotty chuckled, "Ah, the life of a teenaged boy. I had quite forgotten all about it," Scotty commented.

They made their way over to the café anyway, and ordered their drinks. Because of the bet, Gaila was watching them carefully, looking up from her drink-creation every once in a while. Grabbing both drinks, Chekov pointed to a table and they sat down, Pavel sliding the other man's drink across the round table to him.

"Are you excited for the track, Pavel?" Scotty asked, taking a sip.

"I'm not sure. It's all so nerve-wracking," Pavel replied, "Was it nerve-wracking for you when you first started recording?"

Scotty thought about it, "God… it's been so long since then… I think I was a _wee_ bit anxious for a while… but then again… we had a whole album to do, so I really just warmed up maybe half-way through?" he said. "Hikaru was only sixteen when he started, the wee little guy…"

Pavel put his hand over his mouth, "And Len accused _me_ of being too young."

Scotty laughed, "Eh, don't mind him. He's still pissed off about Jim pulling him out of pre-med courses to practice his base-guitar with him."

They were silent for a moment before Pavel said, "And Hiakru and him? Are they… an item yet?"

Scotty scoffed, "Plain to see. Spock and Jim as well…"

Pavel blinked, "I… only noticed subtext."

"Well… they haven't been overly friendly with each other. But you do catch 'em making out sometimes… unless you aren't actually looking," the Scotsman replied.

"That must be my problem. I'm not a pervert," Pavel replied, smirking at the older male.

Scotty blushed at the invisible implications, but shrugged none-the-less, "Sticks and stones, love," he replied, then put his hand over his mouth. "Uhm… know what? Nevermind."

Pavel hadn't gotten the implications this time, so he just crooked his head to the side. "What is it, Scotty?" he asked.

Scotty looked off to the side, and was very wary of the pointed looks Gaila was giving him. Her eyebrow raised when he saw her and she went back to flipping through her fashion magazine.

"I uh…" Scotty was having issues, just like he did before when he had tried to… confess. "I… kind of… Well… I really… Oh, boy… Uhm…" he turned to Chekov and put his hands flat in front of him on the table. "I love you."

"…"

Pavel's eyes went as wide as dinner plates for a minute before he slid out of his chair and moved towards the entrance.

"Pavel?"

"I… I have to go!" Pavel cried, throwing on his coat and taking his cell phone out from the pocket.

* * *

"Nyota, I'm at the sketchy grocery store on the corner of D street and 10th, just please come pick me up! It's cold and I'm alone and—"

"What about Scotty! I thought you were on good terms now!" she cried into the phone. Pavel heard a car door slam and knew she was on her way to get him.

"I left him in the café. You know, the Cloud Nine Café at the corner of 10th and Jackson?"

"_God_ Pasha, what did he do?"

"Just come pick me up and I'll tell you!" Pavel yelled, and snapped the cell phone off.

He really hoped Scotty hadn't followed him, and yet, he kind of hoped Scotty would come get him as well. It had been stupid of Pavel to run out when Scotty had told him the three words Pavel had wanted to hear from the other male since… well… since they had met.

Pavel's breath crystallized in the frozen night air. The only problem with the clear skies in the morning and afternoon was it made for a chilly night, and Pavel really wasn't dressed for the cold. His snow boots were on, thank goodness, but he was only wearing a thin jacket.

"Hey. Who's this little lady?" a voice said from behind Pavel.

Now, at school Pavel was accepted for who he was: typically called a gay nerd by Uhura (and now Gaila). So these big boys coming at Pavel at all sides must have been from another school. He distinctly remembered that there had been a basketball game. Uhura had been going to pick up guys (since she didn't _actually_ see herself with Bones) and… maybe they had been let out and Uhura was flirting?

"Please, I have nothing for you," Pavel said.

"It's not money we want, you little fag," another guy growled from behind him.

Pavel spun around, but they were all around him, and soon they were closing in. Pavel felt the first punch to his gut and doubled over, groaning loudly. "I'm sorry, did you say something, you little pansy?" another bully said.

Pavel saw there were about five of them; tall, wide guys. One of them had a rather weird goatee going, looking a bit like a guy from school Gaila had dubbed 'Cupcake.' But it wasn't him… just a terrible nightmare, punching and kicking at Pavel.

They had beaten him to the ground by the time Pavel noticed Uhura's red car zooming in to the parking lot and honking loudly. From the other side of the street, Scotty was running up and yelling at the boys "Get the hell away from him!"

Gaila was behind him, phone in hand, "I'm calling the fucking police, you fucking bastards!" she yelled.

Pavel simply smiled weakly as the boys began to run in the opposite direction. His vision was getting bleary and so… he just went with what his eyes were telling him and… blacked out. "PASHA!"


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen:

It had to be several _days_ before Pavel woke up. He opened his eyes blearily to the light, and saw that he was in a white-walled hospital room. As his eyes came more and more into focus, he saw the faces of Kirk, Spock, Gaila, Hikaru, and even Len. Uhura wasn't there, or his Aunt Natasha, but he wasn't so worried about them.

"Hello, Pavel," Spock said, getting up from one of the chairs in the room. Pavel was in the cot, in a hospital gown, by the feel of it. "You were lucky. You only got some severe bruises and cuts on your person, but one of the men got you in the back of the head. Any harder and he would have caused brain damage. But as it were, you only needed a day of rest."

Pavel nodded and said, weakly, "Where's 'Tash and Nyota?" he said, mostly to his schoolmate.

Gaila smiled, "Ms. Scarlova had to go to work this morning, but Nyo's here. We both took the day off from school to stay with you…"

"You didn't have to do that, Gaila…" Pavel said, trying to sit up.

Gaila grinned, "As you're new honorary papa, I think I do," she said, going into a baby voice and pinching Pavel's cheek lightly.

"What? Are you and Uhura an item now?" Pavel asked.

"No!" Uhura said from the doorway, "But since we're roommates, we both have decided to share custody of my little boy!" she cooed, running to Pavel and throwing her arms around him. "That's why she said _honorary papa_, Pasha…"

Pavel laughed and realized that someone was missing. Everyone there was crowded on his right side… but Scotty wasn't present among them. Pavel freaked, but noticed that his left hand was warmer that his right hand. And that Pavel hadn't once looked left since waking up…

The pressure on his left hand intensified and Pavel finally looked, his grin getting wide as he looked into the brown eyes of one Montgomery Scott. They stared at each other for a long while, both grinning like idiots until Pavel's breath caught in his throat and he said, "Hi."

"Hello yourself, lad," was Scotty's short reply.

They both blushed a little, and Hikaru instinctively took Len's hand. "We better, uh… give them some time…"

Spock and Kirk nodded as Hikaru and Len lead the way out. "I'll tell the doctors he's awake. He can finally go home now that he's conscious," he pointed out, talking to Gaila, who was pushing Uhura out the door, the motherly beauty whining the whole time.

When they were all out and the door was softly closed behind them, Pavel turned back to Scotty, who was looking expectantly at him. "Why'd you have to run away like that? If you would have stayed… slapped me… _whatever_, you wouldn't have been caught by those boys! You gave me half a heart attack!" Scotty said.

Pavel looked away from the older male and whispered, "I'm sorry. I… You told me you loved me and I… couldn't handle it. Couldn't handle being in the same room as you…" he said, turning back to Scotty. "I was… surprised, is all."

"Is all?" Scotty asked exasperated. "Gaila managed to call the police on them, but by the time I got there, you were blacked out! Thank _god_ you were still breathing. Uhura had a cow out there in the snow, and I got some bad verbal abuse from her about letting you go off like that," Scotty said.

Pavel chuckled, and then saw Scotty's slight glare, "Don't worry about her. She takes this 'Mama Uhura' thing a little too seriously. She likes you."

"I know that _now_…" Scotty said, pouting his lips out a little like a child. Pavel laughed out loud this time. Then there was a silence between them. Scotty was stroking the skin between Pavel's thumb knuckle and first finger knuckle with his thumb. Then he spoke again, "I'm sorry for startling you. I just… wanted you to know… how I felt. I mean… I think you confessed better than I did."

Pavel blushed and smiled a little at the older male. "I forgive you."

"And I forgive you as well. You're not dead, anyway."

"Nope, but I tried my best," Pavel joked, grinning.

Scotty couldn't help but grin back. Suddenly Pavel's face was dangerously close to Scotty's, and then the two were swept up in what was very much the first real kiss either one of them had had. Ever. "I love you, Montgomery Scott."

"The feeling still stands for me, Pavel Chekov."

* * *

Soon Pavel was on his way out the door. Grinning, hand-in-hand with Scotty on one side and Uhura grasping the other, he turned to look past Uhura at Gaila. "How much was the bet?" he asked.

"$30," Gaila replied.

"I hope you saved up your last few paychecks, Uhura," Chekov said, looking forward again.

"What? You didn't… oh my god… you did!" Uhura said, watching Chekov's face as it went from calm to grinning like a maniac.

Gaila's expression did the same and soon she was screaming at Uhura, "$30, right here. Chekov has more guts that you think, Mother-of-His!"

Everyone in the company laughed, and the staff didn't have to kick them out because they were all ready out in the cold January sunshine.

Pavel was about to go forward with the others before he felt a faint tug, and Uhura's hand slipped from his grasp. Uhura looked back, but saw the look Scotty was giving her. She went on ahead with Gaila, giggling as they went to wait in her car. The others went to their various vehicles, promising to get back to work by the next day, now that their wonderful little song-writer was okay and not broken.

Pavel turned back to Scotty, who swept him up in another kiss. When it was parted only a few seconds later, he looked into the fabulous green-brown eyes of the kid's and asked, "Now that we're over all this feelings stuff… would you like to have dinner with me on Friday?"

"As in, a real date?" Pavel asked, biting his bottom lip cutely.

"Aye," Scotty replied, wrapping his free arm around the younger boy and pulling him closer.

"I'd love to. I'll give you my cell phone number, all right? Unless Uhura forced it on you because you lost me the other night?"

"That's the one. The latter. She'd make a fabulous mother that one," Scotty said, looking up at her. "Puts my own mum to shame…"

Pavel laughed. "She and Gaila are crazy… but now we're a big happy family. Anyway. Call me…" he heard Uhura honk her horn. "That's my ride. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Aye," Scotty replied, letting go of him to watch him go. He shook his head as Uhura sped through the parking lot and made his way to his own car, glad his heart had finally _slowed the hell down_.

* * *

A/N: Not quite done with this story yet, dear readers. Got about... five chapters. But the worst is done.

Reminder: None of the bullies was Cupcake. Sorry for the mild confusion. *naffs off*


	18. Chapter 18

Slight Warning: Crude humor and lots of Katy Perry references. I couldn't help myself.

* * *

Chapter Eighteen:

"You didn't," Pavel told his friend, covering the bottom half of his mouth. It was unnecessarily warm in Pavel's little attic room.

"Didn't what?" Uhura asked, grinning as she waved the box in front of him. "I know I've given you the Talk several times before this, but now you have a boyfriend and I want you to take this box and put it to some use."

Pavel took the box (otherwise Uhura would have done something brash with it) and set it on the desk, "You're insane. Did the lady at check-out think you had gone mad?"

"I'm turning eighteen, Pasha," Uhura replied, crossing her arms, "And I wanted my little baby to practice safe sex. I have to know I raised you right, Pasha dear…"

Pavel glanced at the box of condoms nervously, putting them away in the desk. "I still think you're freaking _insane_, Soul Sister."

Uhura looked at the clock, "OMFG. We have exactly five hours until your date tonight. We need to _get going_! Hair! Clothes! Though I think you may need some mascara, I'm not going to get you in make-up, I bet. BUT STILL! Wardrobe check!" Uhura screeched, shoving at Pavel as she opened up the closet.

She blinked at it, "Doesn't look as homey as it was in eighth grade. Just because you moved doesn't mean you can't take care of your property," she joked.

"Haha… do you see any hot men in there? I'm not going back in because there's nothing there for me now," Pavel replied, looking at the near empty closet, "I keep most things in drawers under my bed now, remember?"

"I just wanted to make a closet/gay joke," Uhura replied, shutting the door and going toward the messy, un-made bed. She looked under the pile of blankets, grimaced, and proceeded to pull out every drawer under the bed, looking for something that Pavel could wear. "Your most important day ever, and there is nothing here for you to wear? How many times have we been shopping together?"

"You're freaking out. I have pants and shirts and some sweaters. Don't make me freeze to death," Pavel replied, "What do you want me to do with my hair?"

"Go take a shower. I'll try to get a sexy combination that's also easy to take off. And I'm also putting a couple of condoms in your jacket pocket," Uhura warned.

Chekov shrugged, blushing as he grabbed his towel and went down the ladder to the bathroom. Uhura knew what to do once she got an outfit, and hopefully Pavel wasn't sitting in the bathroom naked for too long.

* * *

Pavel was dressed in a pair of grey jeans, tight even against his skinny legs ("You have Ms. Perry to thank for that. I decided to ditch the 'easy-to-take-off' aspect so you could be Scotty's teenage dream."), and a black button-down shirt. Uhura put him in a warm jacket that was a nice grey-green color. She picked out warm socks and Pavel's light cargo boots to complete the outfit. "Plus your gloves, hat, and a scarf," Uhura added as she played with his damp hair while looking at him in the mirror.

"Where are the con—never mind. Found 'em," Pavel said, digging in his pockets and not extracting the tiny packets from them. Maybe he _would_ need them.

Uhura looked at the clock, "This is taking forever. Half-hour shower, then it takes you another forty-five to stop arguing with me about the skin-tight jeans. He's strong! He can get 'em off if it gets _too_ passionate!" Uhura told him, "Besides. _Let him put his hands on you in your skin-tight jeans be his teenage dream tonight!_" she sang.

"We'll see. He might get turned off by the _skin-tight jeans_," Pavel replied, "Especially if he can't get them off."

"Secret abstinence technique. Why do you think these types of pants were invented, Pasha?" Uhura asked, tapping his nose.

They laughed and Uhura finally gave up on Pavel's hair. They had two hours left. "I think I still have those last few episodes of _Glee_ on my TiVo," Pavel said.

"How many times have you watched them?" Uhura asked.

"But… I want Blaine for Christmas. Singing 'Baby It's Cold Outside…'" Pavel replied.

"I'll get the karaoke version of it and you and Scotty can sing it. Oh wait! What about freaking '_Pasha's Lullaby_?'" Uhura asked as she opened the door and they breezed passed Natasha into the TV room downstairs.

"That was brilliant too. But I don't think we can actually be all flirty and have eye-sex with each other during a live performance. Sound about right?" Pavel asked, turning on the television. "Now hush! Darren Criss is about to become my teenage dream for the eighteenth time!"

* * *

As soon as the Christmas episode was over, the doorbell rang and Nyota patted her best friend's ass as he got up to get it. She herself turned off the TV and made her way into the hall. Ms. Skarlova, Pavel's aunt, stood on the bottom step as Pavel opened the door. When she saw who it was, she nodded at him and went into the kitchen.

"Hey…" Pavel said, like he was losing his breath.

"Hey…" Scotty replied, his voice mirroring Pavel's.

Uhura rolled her eyes, "One of you swoon into the other's arms or I'm going to have to slick down your shoes with butter."

"No thank you, _mom_," Pavel replied, glaring at her.

Scotty chuckled and held out his hand, "Ready to go? I see you don't have a wallet, so I don't have to worry about going Dutch tonight…"

Pavel took the gloved hand in his own and saluted to Uhura, "I'm vanishing, Uhura. Don't wait up."

"Oh that's all right, I got a hot date with a certain barista at Cloud Nine café. I wore my best panties!" Uhura said.

Chekov rolled his eyes and Uhura followed them out the door, staying on the front stoop as Scotty led Pavel to his car. "Bye boys! I love you! Pasha, don't forget about the condoms in your jacket pocket! Practice safe sex! Have fun, honey!"

As Scotty got in on the driver's side, Chekov clicked his seatbelt in and said, "Honestly, I don't know that chick. She just walked in my house and decided to stick around…"

Scotty chuckled again and started the car. "You'll never get rid of her, though."

* * *

A/N: For any of you interested, I did write "Pasha's Lullaby," the song, and I just put freaking music to it. "Pasha's Lullaby" isn't just a set of lyrics anymore. Maybe you'll here it some day...


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen:

"I must warn you," Scotty told them as they slowed to stop for a red light, "I got some date ideas from Gaila."

"Oh no. Does it involve sex toys?" Pavel asked jokingly.

Scotty blushed but his laugh was genuine, "Oh no. She told me the name of a good, cheap restaurant, and then told me which cinema was playing that new animated movie…"

"That sounds… tamer than Gaila…" Pavel said.

"What, is she working the streets in her spare time?" Scotty asked.

"No… she and Uhura just constantly joke about if she did. I thought she'd at least give you her fuzzy handcuffs or something," Pavel replied.

"She has… fuzzy handcuffs?" Scotty asked, as the light turned green.

"She _says_ she does. I have yet to be invited to her house…" Pavel replied. "So… the classic dinner-and-a-movie date is in my future?"

Scotty drummed his fingers on the steering wheel to the music playing over the radio (it was a classic rock station) and nodded, "Pretty much, yeah."

* * *

"Well… this is interesting."

Scotty sighed and put his head in his hands again, rubbing them against his cheeks vigorously, "Again, I apologize, Pasha…"

The two had gotten to the restaurant, and had found it packed to all four walls. After waiting for about an hour, they got a table, but it was right next to the kitchens, so every time waiters and waitresses came out with food or in with orders, Scotty got hit in the back. And since they could hardly move their chairs without hitting the people next to them, Scotty was perpetually hit in the back with a swinging door.

Pavel laughed and put his hand over Scotty's "It's _fine_ Scotty… I'm just teasing you. Who knew there were _this_ many other gay couples in the area," he said, looking around.

The table next to them had two couples that were clearly on a double date. The woman was black, in her twenties, and laughing fairly loud as she touched and caressed her date: a beautiful blonde girl with eyes that seemed to switch from blue to green to grey. The male couple was composed of an Asian male and a Jamaican guy, who talked in the accent and everything.

The rest of the patrons were either in a relationship or out with a group of friends who happened to be in a relationship. "Gaila knows her shit," Scotty commented, lurching slightly as the door opened again against his chair. Any harder, and he would have been catapulted over the table and into the couple next to them. "Do they forget I'm here?" he asked, his head falling to the table.

Pavel looked over at the stage area of the restaurant, an idea going through his head suddenly. "Hey… I've got an idea for how we can get through this night…" he said.

"What?" Scotty asked.

Pavel got up, "Wait here. I'll be back… in the meantime, I'll have the tortellini pesto," he said, and zipped off without another word.

Scotty was thoroughly confused, but he waited for the younger male to come back, and in the meantime, got his and Pavel's order in, was forgotten about again, had his back hit three more times, and finally Pavel returned.

"It's all set up," Pavel replied. "It's a surprise, Scotty," he said to Scotty's pleading/confused look.

"Now I'm nervous," Scotty replied.

"Don't be," Pavel replied, watching Scotty get doored again as the waitress came out with their meals, "Trust me. Now we've got a lovely 45 minutes to eat while the band sets up."

"Wait… what band?"

"The Brothers Grimm, of course," Pavel replied, "I hope you don't mind Hikaru getting into your apartment to get your guitar? Jim's taking your part while you and I take vocals…"

Scotty's eyes widened and his fork dropped back down onto the plate. "You didn't…"

"I did. Jim would only get the others rounded up if you and I sang together. And I told him we would. I'm not sure why he was so pushy about it, though…" Pavel mused, taking another bite of food as he mulled it over for a minute. "Not important. I thought a duet of 'Beautiful Soul' would do it. I know you guys did a duet version between Jim and you, so this time I'll take Jim's part."

Scotty was shaking his head, but he was smiling as he did so, "You're a wonder, lad," he finally said when there was a break in Pavel's musing. "Are the girls coming?"

"Nope. This is a private show for this restaurant only, tonight only," Pavel replied. "I told the manager that and he nearly cried. But I threatened to tell them of our initial treatment tonight to the company manager and he finally obliged to a one-night engagement."

Scotty's mouth had opened and his fork was still was poised between it and the plate of green and white spiral pasta covered with alfredo sauce. Pavel saw his staring and blinked, "Eat up. We have 42 minutes until show time."

The rest of the meal was silent as Scotty thought about the performance and Pavel checked his watch. The Russian whizkid had told Jim to wait in the parking lot until 8:00 and then come in through the back of the restaurant. Pavel and Scotty would meet him back there. As it were, Pavel was pretty nervous about going up on stage, but if the waiters would finally notice who they were the next time they came, (because the food was good and the place was gay-friendly) then this was the best way to remind them. Jim's face was the central thing on most of the album artwork, so Pavel knew that's what the fans usually saw (if they weren't hardcore fans like he, Uhura and Gaila were). Switching things up a bit would certainly work.

* * *

The time soon came, and Pavel was leading Scotty backstage.

Jim, McCoy (looking pissed), Hikaru (looking psyched) and Spock (looking… normal) were waiting for them, all ready to go on the stage. They were waiting for the curtain to go up.

"Ready for this, little man?" Jim asked, bumping fists with Pavel. "You two looked cute together, BTW."

Pavel blushed, "Let's go," he said, looking at the manager of the restaurant, who went out first and introduced them. Several people seemed to know who the Brothers Grimm were, and were cheering loudly.

Spock went out, calmed them down, and told them about the switches they were making, making sure to tell their confused audience that Pavel was the songwriter, and he was filling in for Jim 'because he had a sore throat.'

The curtains finally opened, and Hikaru began beating out a beat before Len came in, then Jim, and finally, Scotty started: _"I don't want another pretty face  
I don't want just anyone to hold  
I don't want my love to go to waste  
I want you and your beautiful soul_…"

Pavel was next, and he took the microphone in front of him, glanced over at Scotty, smiled a brilliantly nervous smile, and sang his part, _"I know that you are something special  
To you I'd be always faithful  
I want to be what you always needed  
Then I hope you'll see the heart in me_…"

Then they came together for the chorus, _"I don't want another pretty face  
I don't want just anyone to hold  
I don't want my love to go to waste  
I want you and your beautiful soul  
You're the one I wanna chase  
You're the one I wanna hold  
I won't let another minute go to waste  
I want you and your beautiful soul  
Yeah_…"

Scotty went from just singing into the microphone to holding the mic and taking it off the stand, turning completely to Pavel, _"You might need time to think it over  
But I'm just fine moving forward  
I'll ease your mind  
If you give me the chance  
I will never make you cry c`mon let's try_…"

They sang the chorus together, with a little backing from Len and Hikaru. Jim pretended to lip sic as he still 'had a sore throat.'

The notes changed and they went into the bridge. In the original cover, Jim and Scotty had done some weird singing, so Pavel and Scotty kept it in as well. They alternated lines, starting with Pavel: _"Am I crazy for wanting you?  
Maybe do you think you could want me too?  
I don't wanna waste your time…"_

_"Do you see things the way I do?  
I just wanna know that you feel it too  
There is nothing left to hide…"_

They went back into the chorus again, and repeated it another two times before Hikaru, Len and Jim took the outro: _"I want you and your beautiful soul  
Ooooooo  
Beautiful Soul, yeah  
Oooooo, yeah  
Your beautiful soul  
Yeah…"_

The ending had Pavel and Scotty in the middle, breathless as they held their mics, staring at each other, with Hikaru still on his drums, Len letting off his bass note with a wave of his hand, and Jim pretty much mirroring the grumpy bassist.

Pavel and Scotty turned to their audience, and bowed before the curtains were pulled in and the crowd went completely insane.

"Man… you two should break from the band and be a two man show," Hikaru said, his smile engulfing his face.

"Don't really," Jim said, putting out a hand. "I really hate doing covers now that I've tasted the sweet nectar of your original words on my lips, Pav."

Pavel and Scotty laughed, "Well… that'll certainly get us remembered around here. Think we could make this place our official hangout just so the manager doesn't think we completely led those people on?" Scotty asked.

Spock sighed, "All right. We'll have dinner here after every gig…"

"Great," Pavel said, "_Now _I think I can go home… and thanks guys."

"No problem," Kirk replied, fist-bumping the boy again, "That was totally awesome. I think I want you to be lead singer once and a while, Pav…"

Pavel laughed nervously, "One thing at a time, Jim…"

* * *

A/N: Song used (not written by me this time…): 'Beautiful Soul' by Jesse McCartney  
Based on this video: http (colon forward- slash forward-slash) www (dot) youtube (dot) com (forward-slash) watch (question-mark) v (equals) WKFggFZBZuo


	20. Chapter 20:  Epilogue

Chapter Twenty: An Epilogue

Instead of going to church on Sunday mornings, Pavel and Natalya stayed in their living room, where there was an old piano that had belonged to Pavel's mom. Natalya had taken her sister's son and her piano in after her death, and Pavel was very grateful for that. Even though he had his own electronic keyboard now, he loved to play that piano, and he reserved his Sunday mornings to it.

Natalya loved to watch her nephew play on Sundays as much as Pavel loved to play for her. Mostly, because her sister's picture was on the piano, as it was a stand-up. Her sister's pretty face seem to watch over them as Pavel played.

This Sunday was no different. Pavel got up, dressed as nicely as he could for being in his own living room, and Natasha sat in her armchair as Pavel lifted the piano cover and sat himself down. He paused over the keys for a moment before he smiled and began playing the background and melody for 'Searching for Light' (which was the number 5 top played track on the radio these days. 'Invisible Love' was number 1), only humming along as he played.

It had been three weeks since Scotty and Pavel's smashing first date. They had gone on a number of other dates since then, of course. In the course of that time, Pavel had gotten into the college in town, was picking out his courses for the next year, and had graduated from high school, as well as turned eighteen.

The Brothers Grimm were still together, of course, and Pavel was still writing songs for them, which were gaining more and more popularity. They were received well at gigs, and they were now mixing songs for the second album.

Summer vacation was starting today. As Chekov hummed, he was reminded that Scotty and him were spending one last afternoon of freedom together before the Brothers Grimm (and Pavel) went on a two month tour to big cities in five major states. That's all they had time for before Pavel was expected to attend a week of orientation before classes formally started in fall.

There was a sudden knock on the door. Pavel had that fluttery feeling that it was Scotty. Natasha signaled him to continue playing, and he did, taking his eyes off his mother's pretty face to watch as his aunt let Scotty in. They quietly sat down in the living room, Natasha in her chair, and Scotty on the couch. Scotty hung himself off the arm of the couch and closed his eyes as Pavel changed the music to a song that reminded him of his mother. A beautiful piece simply called "Wind."

And as he played (not humming this time) he glanced back at the picture of his mom and thought, his eyes closed and his smile warm, 'Thank you, Mama. Without you and your music… my life wouldn't be as wonderful as it is now.'

**FIN

* * *

**

**A/N: **Thank you everyone who reviewed and continued to support me. This chapter is dedicated to all of you. Hope to see you around in some of my other works.

Love and Red Vines,

LPM


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